Arcs of Love
by Envious Yet
Summary: 100 drabbles, centered on Wally with BatFlash slipped in there. Okay, so a lot of BatFlash in there. Bear with me.
1. Full Circle

**Arc: **_Full Circle  
><em>**Titles:**_ Beginnings, Middles, Ends  
><em>**Characters: **_Wally's POV, mentions of all JL members, mentions of Nightwing (Dick), and Arsenal (Roy), robots  
><em>**Pairings: **_hinted!one-sided!BatFlash  
><em>**Warnings: **_Minor swearing, minor violence, hinted pre-slash.  
><em>**Word Count: **_930 all in all according to Word.  
><em>**A/N: **_So this turned out to be Wally-centric (like I was going for) with his crush on Bruce and his admiration towards J'onn J'onzz. You want the truth? They're my favorites. Love them. But, yeah, there's a little more J'onn in there than I anticipated. I promise that next time there'll be more blatant BatFlash, but for now I'm taking it slow. Sorry if this messes with canon, but this _is_ fanfiction. Also, sorry to whoever made this list. I found it and I loved it, and I hope you don't mind if I use it. There are a hundred of these babies. Read and review, please._

**001. Beginnings. **

It had been Superman's idea, but they had all thought about it, just a little, once before. Wally himself had always thought that more people working on the world's problems was a better idea, although he'd been content to kick back and pretty much let the others take care of their own cities. Keeping a comfortable distance and all, except when duty called and he really had to be there. Of course they had thought about it, there was no question that a group of superheroes working together was a good idea, despite the possible conflicts that could occur. But Superman was necessary because he was so powerful. Wally knew that if the _Flash_ had brought it up, everyone would take it as a joke and wait for the punch line. And Wally was pushed around enough to know when to keep his mouth shut (most of the time, anyways. Really, sometimes things just slipped out!) and had for a while. But Superman opened up the possibility and they all pretty much got on board, with some reluctance from Batman.

'_Psh, reserve member, my very fine ass!'_ Was what Wally thought. The guy practically owned the Watchtower, not to mention that _everyone else _considered him to be part of the Big Seven, which he was. But, in the beginning, Batman hadn't wanted to be. Too bad Superman had a great way of talking people into things using those baby blues and massive biceps. Not that Batman was intimidated in the least by the Man of Steel, but Clark _was_ considered one of Bruce's only close friends. At least, before the League, when he gained five more of them. Then came Diana and John and _J'onn_ and Shayera and Wally himself. When the League started filling up, in the end, he had a whole lot more, and maybe they weren't all _close_, but Batman respected them, trusted them to a point, and grew to care for them (all the while scowling, of course). Wally cared for Batman, more than he would care to admit, but that was something he would dwell on another time.

After all, when you really thought about it, _Superman_ hadn't really been began this, and neither had Batman. J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter had.

Well, him and a bunch of aliens.

**002. Middles.**

It occurred to Wally that there were seven of them one day. An odd number, a number with a _middle_. He wondered which one of them was the middle.

In his old group, where he reigned with Dick and Roy, the answer had been simple. Roy had been on one end of the spectrum, Wally had slipped easily into the middle, and Dick had gladly taken the other end. And no, he wasn't just talking height-wise. They had been the troublesome trio, the best friends forever, and all that shit. But this was a different team.

It was easier than he thought it would be to come up with an answer. The Big Three, as they were affectionately called, were Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman (not necessarily in that order, although Wally was willing to bet no one ever thought of it a different way). The Little Three, as Wally thought fondly of him, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl, were just what they sounded like, what they would always sound like regardless of how many times they served an equal part in saving the world. The one in the middle was J'onn.

Like his much-loved Oreo cookies, J'onn was the cream and they were the two cookies. In reality, they were all equal, and J'onn was the one who held together that thin line of being so incredibly balanced. Wally wondered what it would be like if J'onn went away, and then shuddered at the thought.

Even though the thought of what would happen if Batman went away made him shudder a bit more.

**003. Ends.**

It was all over as soon as they saw them. Superman destroyed them with his bare hands, with his eyes, and with his unbreakable will. Wonder Woman stood strong beside him, beside all of them, and used her strength to destroy them all, deflecting and attacking easily. Green Lantern floated in the sky and crushed them with a large green hand, with a hammer, with green tentacles that formed from nothing- just power. Hawkgirl leapt into the skies with a battle cry and tore through them with her mace, smattering them everywhere. He sped through their ranks, vibrated his fingers into them, and skittered around as a useful distraction.

J'onn was in the Watchtower, destroying their minds from a distance, able to do so much from so far away, his end never near for he was immortal in a land of mortals. He would come later and be even more useful after Wally had fallen from lack of sleep and food and after John had crumbled from broken bones.

Batman, of course, would remain resilient as he sliced and diced through them with power and control. As he moved gracefully from the shadows and broke them apart with his hands, as he swirled in his very human self and blew them up without a second thought.

All Wally could think was '_Thank God they're robots.'_ The Justice League would never kill, and so an apocalypse, an End of the World brought on by robots was just about their favorite thing.

Of course, there would be other battles like this, other apocalypses, that wouldn't be so simple or easy to finish. Not everything was as simple as a bunch of robots.


	2. Softness

**Arc: **_Softness  
><em>**Titles: **_Insides, Outsides  
><em>**Characters: **_Wally's POV, Batman, Wonder Woman, mentions of the League as a whole  
><em>**Pairings: **_one-sided/possibly not one-sided!BatFlash  
><em>**Warnings: **_Usage of the word 'orgasm' in a mildly non-sexual manner, major Wally-thinking-of-Bat-fluff  
><em>**Word Count: **_744 in all according to Word.  
><em>**A/N: **_About 200 less words, but I really like it. Big thanks to Grammar Nazi who pointed out my mistake with the 'bear' in the summary. Read and review, please._

**004. Insides. **

Wally felt warm. On the inside, not on the outside, because his _outside_ was still freezing. But he was definitely slowly warming up because _Batman _had his cloak/cape thingy around him. Yes, _that_ cloak/cape thingy. It was a really special feeling.

They had been on a mission in the Artic, investigating a weird alien ship that had crashed there out of nowhere. He, Wonder Woman, and Batman were on the mission, and Flash had forgotten to bring his warmer clothing. He thought that they would be fighting some aliens, not standing around waiting for test results. Wonder Woman had lifted it up to check for traps underneath, and then they had gone inside, but there was nothing. Now, Batman was checking out the substance that was leaking from the back and Wally was pretty much just standing there. And shivering. God, it was cold. He was pretty sure his lips were blue.

Wonder Woman, who was immune to the cold, gave him a sympathetic look, and Batman, who was warm because of the many layers of Kevlar and the fact that he'd had to foresight to wear the warmer version of his costume, gave him one look and swooped off his cloak/cape thingy in a grand gesture and settled it around him, before clasping it in front. And boy was it _warm _and _soft_, on the inside, all lined with fur like that. Bats really gave off a lot of body heat. He was sure he was blushing, and it wasn't just from the harsh wind that blew into his face.

Not to mention, now his insides were all tingly and melt-y and warm from the _implications_. Wonder Woman had a kind of knowing smirk on her face.

**005. Outsides. **

Wally knew that looks could be deceiving, in fact, a lot of times people underestimated _him_ because of the way he looked. As Wally _and_ the Flash. Of course, people who knew him well could see the difference, and they knew that he wasn't just some goofy slack off all the time. He could be smart when the time called for it.

That was how Wally knew that Batman wasn't just a super scary guy with mad issues and a really cool costume. He had a big heart and a soft, gooey center and that is what made him Batman. Of course, he would never say _soft, gooey center_ out loud and to the man's face, but that was beside the point.

There wasn't a particular day that this was obvious, it was more of a gradual understanding, like how Batman gradually grew to know him as more than a silly nuisance, but today, in particular, it showed.

Wally had shown up to the meeting with a terrible cough, the sniffles, and a headache. The rest of the League had looked at him, shaken their heads and steered him to the infirmary. Wally knew that his sickness would be gone within the day, but they seemed unconvinced and demanded he stay in bed until he was properly healthy again. It was nice to know they cared. Wally _knew_ they cared, but sometimes it was nice to see it.

Later, when he was bored and alone, having been watching That 70s Show rerun for about four hours now, he got a visitor. There, standing in all his muscular and dark glory was Batman, looking just as intensely broody as usual. But in his hand was the perfect cup of hot chocolate. Batman became an angel in his eyes, and Wally practically salivated at the sight of the mug. It was beautiful, sitting there in its gloriously warm and chocolate nature. The Dark Knight handed it to him with a strong hand, and Wally accepted it. He took a sip and practically had an orgasm, it was so delicious. Okay, so maybe that was an exaggeration, but it was still really good. And then he smiled up at his _crush_ and thanked him. The Dark Knight nodded and swept out of the room. But that was all Wally needed.

And as he drank the rest of it, savoring each sip instead of gulping it down like he usually would, Wally pondered Batman in his not-scariness, and wondered when he came to know the hero as a _man_ and not just as a symbol.

Looks could be really deceiving, unless they came in the form of a Dark Angel holding a cup of the perfect hot chocolate.


	3. Time

**Arc: **_Time/The Rumor Mill  
><em>**Titles: **_Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, Years  
><em>**Characters: **_Wally's POV, Batman, Superman, Supergirl (Kara Kent), Green Lantern (John), Shayera, Wonder Woman (Diana), lots of mentions of Lex Luthor, mentions of Booster Gold (Michael), Blue Beetle, Dinah (Black Canary), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Green Arrow (Ollie), Roy Harper (Arsenal), Dick Grayson (Nightwing), Huntress, Question, Plastic Man, and Len the camera man. Wow. That's a lot.  
><em>**Pairings: **_one-sideded/possibly not one-sided!BatFlash, John/Shayera, hinted!not-serious!Diana/Shayera, Dinah/Ollie, hinted/not-serious!Ollie/Roy  
><em>**Warnings: **_A little language, Wally having non-descriptive dirty thoughts about Batman and J'onn overhearing, slashy goodness, mentions of thoughts of sex, mentions of rumors of orgies, crackier than the last two chapters  
><em>**Word Count: **_3,054 according to Word. A lot more, I know…  
><em>**A/N: **_This is a lot longer. And a lot crackier. Wow. I don't even know where this came from. Also, probably not edited very well, so I apologize in advance for terrible grammar and/or spelling mishaps. On a side note, in the last one, 004 to be precise, Wally got cold in the Artic. I know that technically with his powers this isn't really possible, but I just… couldn't help myself. Forgive me? Read and review, please._

**006. Hours. **

For him, time is incredibly slow. Every second is like a minute, every minute like an hour, every hour like a day, every day like a week and so on. He hates sitting and waiting because of this, he hates just about anything that takes time, and just about everything does. But there are certain things that are worth it.

Like this one time, when Batman put his hand on his shoulder for a _whole_ minute in normal standards, Wally _really_ paid attention to that_ hour_. Actually, he's pretty sure sex with Batman will kill him because every time the Dark Knight even brushes his skin at all (even while it's covered with skin-tight red spandex) he gets all tingly. The shoulder thing made his knees go weak and he certainly didn't hear whatever his crush was saying.

But it was _awful_ when terrible things were happening. Like that one time when he'd been slammed repeatedly into a wall by Gorilla Grodd and his bones were crushed and he was waiting for them to heal, and he was just _lying_ there in pain. That had been horrible. Then again, that had been when he was much less competent and Kid Flash.

Nowadays the terrible things that happened to him always seemed to involve Lex Luthor or evil teammates. Sometimes even both. And no, if you're wondering, he is in no way bitter about that. At all. Besides, Lex totally didn't even know who Wally West and probably didn't care enough to look him up. The only thing Lex wanted to do was piss of Superman. And occasionally attempt to take over the world, but mostly piss off Superman. Usually he did both _at the same time_. Like that presidency thing? Totally just to peeve the Big Blue. Psh. Even _he_ could see that.

So right now he happened to be in a meeting. The most boring meeting in the history of all Justice League meetings, which was saying something because there had been that one time when even _Batman_ fell asleep during the speech. And Batman didn't even, like, need sleep. That thought totally didn't make Wally's mind turn to dirty, dirty things about what Batman could possibly be doing in the time that he totally didn't need to sleep in. Really.

Anyways, the meeting. In reality, it had probably been about twenty minutes so far. But in Wally's mind? Like 20 hours. It was terrible. Sometimes meetings were bearable. Especially when Batman stood up there in all his gloriously handsome and broody sexiness and spoke _words_. There had been this one time when Wally had literally spent the entirety of Batman's report on… um, something… staring at his lips. There had been the vague hope in the back of his mind that no one would notice, but then J'onn kept giving him these incredibly knowing looks and Wally just knew that he was screwed. And not in the good way either.

But in _this_ meeting, a government official was reading some sort of letter about how the government thought they could improve the way they saved people (the nerve!) and it was getting really old, really fast. Even Superman was past being offended (they had all felt offended at first) and onto being just plain annoyed. And Superman rarely let his attention waver when it came to things like this. (Wally swore he was just as paranoid as Batman when it came to Lex Luthor. And in Superman's world, almost everything was Lex Luthor's fault. It was actually pretty amusing).

However, there was one advantage to being so incredibly bored. Because since everyone else was bored, he was allowed to look the most bored. And therefore turn his attention onto much more interesting things. Like Batman's rippling muscles (how did they do that when he was just sitting there?), or the broody set of his amazing mouth, or he way the light hit his mask and made him seem so much more intimidating (read: sexy). He spent the next twenty minutes of government-induced torture in delirium, staring at the Dark Knight _very_ unsubtly and thinking dirty thoughts.

J'onn actually coughed at one point, when a fantasy about him, Bats, and a jar of peanut butter got particularly graphic. _John_ coughed when Flash leaned forward in order to get a better look at his interest. Diana and Shayera had vaguely amused looks on their faces, while Clark somehow managed to pull off looking both confused, irritated, and hopeless at the same time. Batman completely ignored him, keeping his focus on the speaker. But Wally was sure he knew. Batman always knew.

When the meeting was over after 48 long minutes, no one said anything. They all just left. Wally went to his room in the Watchtower and snuggled with his Batman plushy for a very long time.

**007. Days. **

The repairs for the Watchtower took three days. In the Superhero world, that was a long time for repairs, but the damage was deep. During those three days, Wally was confined to the only untouched part of the tower- the infirmary. And he was not very happy about it. But with Bats watching over him like a hawk (not to mention John, J'onn, Shayera, Diana, and Clark) there was really nothing he could do about it.

At least league members constantly visited him, talking about the repairs, his recovery, and the various gossip that was circling around the tower. Wally enjoyed the gossip because some of it was just so _stupid_.

For example, on his second day (week) in confinement, Kara came and sat beside him, brining with her a tub of ice cream and two spoons. Kara was one of his favorites, and the fact that she was easy on the eyes just helped with this. Plus she was so sweet, and yet badass at the same time! Like Dinah. _Not _like Huntress. Thank God.

"So, the big story of the week is that you guys- the big seven, I mean- have an orgy every week to distress and stuff. Is that true?"

Wally sputtered on his ice cream for a few seconds, before coughing and recovering from the major shock that was that sentence. He gave her a mildly appalled look, "Of course not! I can assure you that none of us have _ever_ had sex with each other!" At her look, he amended his statement, "Well, except for maybe Shayera and John back when they were going out."

Kara frowned, looking a bit disappointed. Wally couldn't imagine why.

"Are you sure?" She asked, sucking on her spoon.

"Yes." Wally replied instantly.

"Oh," a gleam entered her pretty blue eyes and she looked down at him, "So it's not true that you and Batman had sex in the control room, then?"

Wally literally choked on his ice cream, causing Kara to have to pat him (with her super strength) on the back. That was a terrifyingly terrible rumor to have going around the Watchtower, and regardless of the fact that Wally _wished_ it had happened, it really hadn't. No need to tarnish Batman's reputation, his love deserved better than that.

"N-no!" He exclaimed weakly, "I can assure you I've never had sex with Batman. Ever."

Kara looked disappointed again, and Wally felt bad. He had probably just crushed one of her hottest slashy dreams ever. He knew what it was like to have dreams like that crushed (there was this one time with Diana and Shayera and a really tiny closet that he'd promised never to even _think_ of again) and so he decided to make it up to her.

"Not that I don't think he's attractive or anything. Because he is. Sex in a capey-cloaky thingy." Wally said confidently. Kara's face lit up instantly.

"Good!" Wally started feeling a little sick. "I have to go now, I've got a mission!" Then she kissed him on the cheek and left, smiling and practically skipping out of the room.

Wally groaned. Now, there was going to be rumors about him having a ginormungus (that word was Dick's fault, really!) crush on the Batman. Damn. He really had to be more careful about what he was compassionate about.

A day later, he was out of the infirmary and exploring the recently renovated Watchtower while rumors bounced off of the walls behind him. He felt no better when Batman came up to him during lunch and sat down to eat. Because that was really just encouraging the rumors.

Even if the feel of _his_ strong thigh against Wally's was cause for fanboy squealing inside of his head.

The rumors would persist for many days after. Batman never did do a thing to discourage them.

**008. Weeks. **

Winter break was one of his favorite things ever. As a working man who also had a job as a superhero, vacation really was wonderful. There was no need for silly excuses about why he was late, why he was leaving, or why he attended all three lunches every single day. He loved his coworkers and his work (in both situations) but sometimes it was just nice to kick back at the Watchtower and giggle over the stupidest things with John (who didn't giggle) and Kyle (who claimed he didn't giggle, but totally did).

His apartment was dark and gloomy and _empty_ so he never stayed there. Instead he set up fort in his room at the tower and stayed up as long as possible watching reruns of That 70s Show. (That was he and Shay's bonding time).

This winter break, though, no one was really around. Except for Batman, or, as Wally sometimes liked to call him in those moments when he was very much alone, Bruce. _Bruce Wayne_. Yum.

So the break was about two weeks long, give or take a few days. And this time, John had abandoned him in an attempt to fix his relationship with Mari (which was doomed to fail _anyways_ so Wally didn't really understand why he was trying), Kyle was off on 'official Green Lantern business' (psh, yeah right), Diana had taken a moping Shayera to visit her family on Themyscira (they would come back even more feministic than before, Wally was sure), Clark and Kara were at their parents' house (they were very nice people, who made very nice pies), J'onn was with his girlfriend (who Wally had yet to meet, yet desperately wanted to), and everyone else was avoiding him for some unknown reason.

He was sure it had nothing to do with the fact that the rumor had never died away. As of now, according to the gossip mill, he and Batman were planning on eloping in Vegas as soon as they could break away from the rest of the league. Wally was sure that he'd heard Kara, Diana, Shayera, and various other members of the League organizing their honeymoon. Which, for some reason, was in Japan.

But really, nothing was going on. Oh, sure, Wally was still crushing on Batman so hard sometimes his head _and_ his heart hurt, but he hadn't confessed and had been very carefully ignoring the rumors. Batman was also. Or at least that's what Wally assumed he was doing, seeing as how whenever the topic came up while Bats was in the room, he was extremely oblivious and then mysteriously disappeared. Wally thought that was pretty hot.

So. Pretty much all of this was why Wally currently found himself with only Batman for company over the two week vacation from his job. And Flash, as an extremely social and touchy-feely person, couldn't help but want to take full advantage of this situation.

The red-clad speedster grinned, leaned back in his chair, and thought brilliant thoughts of all the amazingly naughty things the man sitting in two chairs over could be doing to him if those rumors were actually true.

These next few weeks would _not_ be boring, to say the least. Not with Wally blushing everywhere, Batman appearing and disappearing everywhere, and the growing story of the epic relationship between Batman and the Flash.

Both heroes totally ignored the very unsubtle way that Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, and Black Canary spied on them. They were just content to have their usual banter/discussions/Wally-filling-the-broody-silence-with-his-awesomeness for the next few weeks.

**009. Months.**

In the months leading up to the disappointing, anti-climactic end to Bruce and Wally's supposed epic romance, there were a lot of things going on.

Most of these things had something to do with the end of the world. And occasionally Lex Luthor. But mostly the end of the world.

Wally had been, in three months, body switched with the Question (shudder), Plastic Man (wow. He was really bendy now.), and Len, a camera man. Poor Len. Things hadn't gone so well for him in Wally's body. Wally was just glad he hadn't been switched into a ladies body, that would just be awkward. Poor Booster Gold. Scratch that, poor _Diana_!

Also in these three months, there had been seven apocalypses, most involving the usage of a virgin sacrifice as their offering and the draining of the original seven's strength and powers.

Wally had saved Batman's life four times and Batman had saved his life six times. He knew this only because he had come across Kara's chart on accident, which pretty much mapped out their (fake) relationship and the obvious signs that it was real. People were still waiting for them to whiz off to Vegas to elope.

However, Wally _did_ know (without having to see a chart), exactly how many times he and Bats had come into close contact over the past few months (57 times, not counting the one when he'd been in Michael's body), _and_ how much he was lusting for him. It was getting kind of ridiculous.

However, at the end of those three months, something very heartbreaking happened to all those who followed the BatFlash relationship almost obsessively. Batman revealed (in his subtle, sexy way) that he and Wally were in no way involved.

This did not break Wally's heart. It did not.

Pretty much it all broke down when Superman found out about the rumors (charts, Vegas, honeymoon and all) and outright asked Batman about in front of everyone. Everyone. Including Wally, who was amused that Clark hadn't noticed up until this point, embarrassed because of all the attention that was being placed on him (indirectly), and a little betrayed because it was obvious that Superman didn't want to ask him the question out of fear that Wally would totally troll the hell out of him. Which he would, but still. A little faith, please.

Batman then raised an eyebrow (it was obvious from the way the white part of his mask lifted) and said no. The room literally deflated. So did Wally's heart.

But it did not break. Really.

He laughed it off, pretended to have been oblivious, and made the obvious jokes. Kara looked disappointed again, which made Wally feel bad. Actually, Ollie look disappointed. That was creepy.

So then the whole BatFlash thing was crossed off of the rumor mill and Kara conveniently forgot about how Wally had told her he thought Batman was sex in a cape. The latest rumor about Ollie and Roy's alleged relationship made Dinah seethe and get horny at the same time, and caused Wally enough amusement to call Dick and tell him about it.

His next months were normal. Blushing ever so slightly whenever Batman brushed by him, switching bodies with various peoples, saving the world, working as a forensic scientist, and eating enough to keep up with his hyper-metabolism.

His heart really, _really_ wasn't broken. Really.

**010. Years. **

In the first year, when there was only seven of them, it was… great. At that time, Wally didn't have a crush on Batman (well, not _really_) and they were all just getting to know each other.

He loved them from the moment he saw them, really. They were his family.

Clark and Diana were definitely the parents. Doting yet strict, they harnessed massive power over him and yet sometimes he defied them. John and Shayera were his brother and sister. In an incestual relationship, but Wally decided it was best to ignore that flaw in his family metaphor. J'onn was like the coolest, most amazing, nicest uncle ever. Wisest too. Or maybe he was the grandfather? Either way, Wally really looked up to him.

He didn't know what Batman was.

At one point, maybe the distant, broody, mysterious uncle that was cool and gave him one of the best friends he would ever have. But now? He was totally Wally's boyfriend. In his little fantasy world, of course. Wally never mentioned this world to _anyone_. J'onn probably knew about it, though. Which was pretty amusing when you thought about it because, come on, it was _J'onn_.

After the first year, though, was when he thought up of all that.

More years went by and their numbers grew. He loved people, especially people who were as amusing as most superheroes tended to be, and so he had no problem with the Justice League extending their roll call. Although he did miss the pure _closeness_ sometimes. But they had that in their meetings, movie nights, and original seven sleepovers. (Wally only called them that in his head. To everyone else, the sleepovers were all-night monitor duty with the original seven. It was great).

But as the years went on, Wally made many friends. Friends that he would cherish forever, friends that he could call family, even. Through the many missions, apocalypses, Brainiacs (seriously, there were like twenty billion of them, and some of them were evil and some of them were good. What is up with that?), and UST (it happened with everyone. Everyone. Including J'onn), they had become a tight-knit family that just so happened to sleep around with each other occasionally. It was all the sex pollen's fault, really. It always was.

But that's beside the point. The point was that Wally was really, really happy. Even with an unrequited love and all the times he did something stupid, he was happy. Because they were there through it all.

And Batman had really nice muscles. Great to look at whenever he was feeling bored.


	4. Colors and Weaknesses

**Arc: **_Colors/Weaknesses  
><em>**Titles: **_Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black, White, Colorless  
><em>**Characters: **_Too many. Waaay too many. All sorts of POVs, too.  
><em>**Pairings: **_one-sided/possibly-not-one-sided!BatFlash  
><em>**Warnings: **_Possibly some language, mentions of strangling and drowning, mentions of blood, protective/angry!Batman, drabbles that grew way too long to be considered drabbles, angst, humor, weird crackish orange robots, unnamed, young, superheroes who piss Batman off and insult Flash.  
><em>**Word Count: **_9, 268 according to Word. That is too much, I know.  
><em>**A/N:** _Okay, when I first started this, it was intended to be a little angstier, yes. Unfortunately, Orange (pesky little color) grew and had multiple babies and became too long to be considered a drabble. I don't even know. And they all kind of connect. Which is also bad, I know. I'm sorry. I'm also sorry for the long wait, I just started school again and boy is it stressful. Updates might be even more sporadic than usual. I'm seriously sorry about the major crack/angst/fluff that appears in all this. Plus, most of it is unedited, so the grammar might suck in some places. Sorry._

**011. Red. **

One of the most common sights in Central City was that of a bright red-clad speedster as he whisked villains away to jail. Wally himself was quite familiar with the color; wearing it every day did that to you. But he rarely thought of his costume when it came to the color red.

If you asked people in Metropolis, red was one of the colors of Superman's costume. It represented the healthy, all-American standard that Superman stood by so firmly. The color was one of justice, one that put hope in peoples' hearts in Metropolis and gave them something to believe in.

In Gotham, red was not a good thing. The color was only seen when highlighting the dark shadows, splashed over cold, gray stone, or stretched and rubbery-looking over the terrifying smile of the Joker. Red in Batman's world was blood- splattered and growing cold, gory against otherwise pristine pearls, flowing out of a hole in the flesh. Red was never a good thing in Gotham.

For superheroes in general, red was an often-used color for costumes, but it could also mean the messy ending of a friend's life. If white was good and black was evil and gray was the in-between, red was the color that seeped through it all, giving and taking life from everything and anything as it went along.

But Wally didn't think of any of these things when he saw the color red. Instead, it reminded him of his hair. And not just _his_ hair, but his Aunt Iris' (who was his favorite person in the world), and Roy's (one of his best friends ever), and it also reminded him of Dick. Because his best friend totally had a redhead kink, when you thought about. Pretty much all of Dick's long-lasting relationships were with redheads, from Barbara Gordon to Kori to Roy to Wally himself.

It was because of this that he hated thinking of red as blood (especially _his_ blood, black stained with red, trickling over strong, broken, limbs) and he disliked thinking of Superman involved with red, for he knew _Clark_, and both men were all _blue_, not red. Red did not remind him of his costume, for his costume was _legacy_, the legacy that was Jay and Barry and Bart. It reminded him of his Rogues and of the end of the world. Wally was the kind of person who liked to dwell on the good things more, and so when red appeared in his mind, he brought up images of his aunt, of his best friends, and _not_ of death. Maybe just a little of legacy, too.

It was at times like this when he realized how lucky he was that he _could_ think of those things, and not just blood splattered on the floor. He wasn't like Batman, not at all.

**012. Orange. **

Orange was a color that looked terrible on Wally. It clashed with his hair, his eyes, and his general Wally-ness. The only time that Wally liked orange was when Batman used it for buttons. Because somehow, orange buttons were so much more ominous than red ones. Wally also liked it when Batman used the color orange for training robots. Which he often did, because all of the members disliked the color. Especially Shayera, who claimed it clashed so terribly with her hair that at one point on Thanagar she had made it her goal to destroy all things orange. But Wally digressed. This was getting off point. The point was: Batman often used orange to mean a certain thing. Later, Wally would incorporate it with respect.

As he sped to the cafeteria, Wally was only vaguely aware of the many heroes he breezed past, surprised expressions flittering over their faces at the sudden wind that swished their capes and hair around.

He entered the cafeteria was a loud _bang!_, shoving the doors open roughly in his mad quest for food. Some of the heroes leapt to their feet in alarm but others recognized the frantic red tornado that tore through the line and swept up plates of food immediately. Then Wally, laden with food, sat down next to Batman and across from John, and started to shovel it down. Through it all, only the Dark Knight and John remained completely unaffected, used to this behavior from their red-clad friend.

"Hungry?" John asked him, amused at his enthusiasm. Wally suck in more food before bothering to even attempt at a response, and making sure to swallow everything before opening his mouth.

"You have _no_ idea. I feel like I could eat an entire three feasts or something." Then he started eating again, ignoring the disgusted looks several other people gave him. He was used to them, and honestly understood them a bit. But Batman shot the idiots a glare and they promptly schooled their faces into something the terrifying Bat would better approve of.

John laughed, and when Wally finished his fifteenth plate, handed him a large brownie from his own plate. Wally took it excitedly and ate it with vigor, savoring the chocolaty taste. Then he cast a glance to the large clock on the wall and vibrated with glee.

"Oh! I have to go, J'onn and I have got a date!" He winked and sped off, waving goodbye to Batman and John.

The two original members stared after him, amusement clear on John's expression, and the lighter twist to Batman's scowl indicating his own general amusement.

The two continued to eat, ignoring the pile of now-empty plates left behind from when Wally was sitting with them, in peace at the silence. The table next to them was suddenly filled with younger heroes from the line that Wally had interrupted, Supergirl and Stargirl among them.

"Did you see the Flash?" A particularly obnoxious voice cut through the rest of the voices, "The way he eats is _disgusting_!" Both John and Batman tensed. Supergirl frowned in the direction of the offenders, pretty face crinkling at his words.

"Don't say that," she said sharply, "Flash is really nice. A bit of a flirt, maybe, but nice."

Another hero laughed, "Yeah, but he has the _lamest_ villains. I mean, seriously, Captain Boomerang? The Trickster? _Pied Piper_? Not to mention, he has the lamest powers ever. I bet I could clean up Central City faster than he ever could!"

"I know right? Fastest man alive, my ass! Besides, it's not like Superman isn't fast at all. Flash might as well not even be on the team. He's such a joke." Batman started to visibly seethe, an aura practically resonating off of him in his fury. Supergirl and Stargirl gave the people talking glares.

"You know, there's a reason why he's one of the original seven," Stargirl said disapprovingly, "And he could kick your asses any day. I've been on missions with him and while he might seem like he doesn't know or do much, he really does." Supergirl smiled at the girl who was usually her rival. Then both girls grabbed their trays and walked away, looking angry with the other young heroes.

Batman got up, cape sweeping dramatically behind him and then stalked past the table, eyes glaring sharply at the group. He obviously spotted the offenders, and his glare zeroed in on them. They stiffened in their seats, not noticing the glare, but feeling an odd sense of _doom_ fall onto their lives. John bit back a laugh and instead smirked. He could leave this one to Batman. Whatever the man did, it would be good.

People steered out of the Dark Knight's way, obviously sensing his bad mood and not wanting to bump into that. Or generally be around that. Batman had a way of sending his aura around to haunt you and make you feel guilty. For no reason at all.

When the powerful man disappeared, John allowed himself to laugh a little. The kids who had bad mouthed Wally were going to get it, oh yes, they were going to get it good.

Wally was chatting with J'onn over Oreos in relative privacy, when Batman suddenly storming into the room in all his handsome, scowl-y glory. He wasn't sure what was going on, but Batman's large hand (it sent tingles up his spine) wrapped around his bicep and pulled him up and away from his seat. Wally flailed and sputtered indignantly. J'onn just watched them go.

"W-what are you doing!" He protested, still squirming around. "Where are you taking me? Ah! J'onn, Bats is kidnapping me!"

"Excuse us, J'onn," the Dark Knight said as he dragged Wally out of the room, "But I have to borrow Flash here." J'onn, who had read Batman's mind (at first concerned the man might have been turned evil or something), simply nodded in concession and watched with amusement as the thrashing Wally was taken to wherever Batman wanted him to go.

As they vanished with the door, Wally yelled out, "Wait! You can't condone this, he might want to have his wicked way with me!" And J'onn snorted, for that idea was very amusing.

"Bats! Where are we going? And you know, I _can _walk, you don't have to drag me!" Wally dug his heels into the ground pouting and crossing his arms while peering up at the man who was still firmly pulling him to wherever the hell he wanted him to go.

"We are going to give a demonstration." Batman said shortly, gently releasing Flash, but still guiding him. Wally followed, not so reluctant because it was _Batman_. Wally was rarely reluctant when it came to Batman.

He raised an eyebrow at the explanation, but recognized Batman's 'I mean business and you can do nothing to stop me' mood and decided not to argue. Not even Superman argued with that kind of determination.

They stopped first at the Communications Room, where Batman barged in (rather silently for a 'barge' really) and grabbed the microphone that would be heard over the entirety of the Watchtower. Wally gulped, suddenly feeling nervous, and praying that the announcement wasn't something terrible.

"All members of the Justice League please report to Training Room A. All of the original seven please report to Watch Room A. Yes, that means you too, Superman." Batman spoke in a dark and growly voice to make the announcement and a _Clark_ was clearly heard behind the Superman. Wally's curiosity spiked, wondering what could possibly make Batman call this impromptu meeting of sorts.

"Bats," he said nervously while they swept out of there, "What's going on?" Batman gave him a smirk that made his heart beat five times faster and his cheeks to grow warm.

"Like I said, we're going to give a demonstration. Don't worry, Flash, everything will be explained in the meeting." It was oddly disconcerting to hear Batman try and reassure him. He wasn't very good at it, but just the fact that he would try made Wally's heart throb.

"Okay then. Tell me when you decide to stop being all mysterious." He commented, sticking close as they entered some of the main hallways where superheroes were making their way to the training room. Many were grumbling, their lunch interrupted, and they sent Batman dark looks. Those looks quickly transformed into meek ones as Batman proceeded to envelope himself in a dark, gloomy cloud of disappointment and anger that hung in the air. Members who had been around longer knew what this meant. Today would not be easy.

Wally gulped again, clinging with wide eyes to Batman's cape as he lead the way, ignoring the curious and terrified looks sent his way. Wow. Bats really meant business.

They met up with the original seven in the hallway outside of the watch room, which looked out over the training room. Superman gave Batman a raised eyebrow, but at the way he emanated fury, he decided not to ask until they were inside. John, meanwhile had this little knowing smirk on his mouth. Diana and Shayera both gave him looks, to which he shrugged, while J'onn seemed to calmly accept everything. Like usual.

"What is this all about, Bruce?" Clark asked, trying to keep calm and failing in the face of Batman's utter fury. Wally didn't even realize he was still clinging to Batman's cape until John grabbed him and sat him down in one of the chairs.

Watch rooms were designed so that people could view the other people training, and so there was a large table and many chairs with open windows overlooking the training room. As the other members filed into the room, they all looked up to see the faces of the original seven. Batman proceeded to black out the windows.

"It has come to my attention," the Dark Knight started, deep voice making Wally shiver, "That certain members of our league need to be taught _respect_. Especially when it comes to older, more advanced heroes." He was so serious and convincing that Superman didn't even bother to argue.

"Ah," the Boy Scout said, understanding rich in his tone, "So we're going to go with _that _plan, huh?" He rubbed fingers over his jaw and then shrugged, "Okay. If that's what you feel is necessary."

The other members looked at each other. _That _plan could only mean one thing. They were going to have to…

Batman pressed the orange button. A series of surprised screams erupted from the room. The button glittered mysteriously.

Batman looked at them all seriously.

"It's time for us to have a little sparring match. No holding back, and you know the rules. Teach them _respect_. We're going to use the robots. The _orange _ones." They all nodded. Obviously, this meant business.

The orange button mocked all as orange robots flooded the training room. This was Wally's favorite lesson.

**013. Yellow. **

To John, yellow was a weakness. It was a terrible color, all bright and nasty. John hated the color yellow. But he also understood its importance in his life. It was important to have a weakness, a Kryptonite, something to hold him back from being all-powerful and letting it go to his head.

The fact that it was a color was kind of annoying. Especially when yellow jelly could take him down faster than you could say 'damn'. Like that one time with Lex Luthor in Wally's body. That had been freaky and annoying.

But the one good thing about yellow was that every other Green Lantern was forced to suffer from the same ailment (as he thought of it in his head).

That was why, as they gave the members a lesson in respect, he stood with Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner, fighting off the robot's yellow beams that flew at them from everywhere. John himself was in charge of helping them with this particular training session, although he knew that all three other men had nothing but respect for the original seven. But it was still kind of nice to see them being just as useless as him when it came to the evil yellow beams.

He explained what happened over the commotion to the three men, and they laughed. They, Kyle and Hal in particular, would never insult Wally West. Hal had known Barry. Hal had been _best friends_ with Barry. Kyle, meanwhile, had originally had a rocky relationship with Wally, but the two had gotten over that and now both had nothing but respect for the other.

Unfortunately these two facts would do nothing to abate Batman's fury, and so they were forced to also take part in this lesson. At least it would help them learn some teamwork, John thought wryly as he and Kyle took down the last of their stupid orange robots that threw yellow beams at them.

**014. Green. **

There were many things in the superhero world that just so happened to be green. On each team, it seemed there was someone green. The Justice League had J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter. The Teen Titans had Garfield Logan, Beast boy. And while many other green things (Green Lantern, Green Arrow) were all good things, there was _one _green thing that Superman hated with a burning passion.

And it came in the form of a little green rock.

Superman had never been insulted more when Lex Luthor had mockingly told him that the 'Most Powerful Man Alive, the Man of Steel, the _Super_man could be taken down by a 5th grader's geology project'. Never more insulted. To add injury to this insult, he had then learned that while it wasn't _supposed_ to be easy, finding Kryptonite had become a hobby of not only Lex's, but also of many other villains. And they seemed to find a lot of it. Superman only wished he knew where they were getting it all from.

There was only one piece of Kryptonite that he wasn't afraid of. And that piece was kept safely in a little lead compartment in Batman's utility belt. Superman never worried about it getting stolen, and he never worried about taking over the world. Not with Bruce around. With Bruce around, Clark didn't have to worry about that. Although it did piss him off when the Dark Knight got annoyed with him and his hand would twitch towards the compartment. But Clark knew that it was just a reflex. A reflex like the one where Bruce's hands would twitch as though he wanted to choke someone whenever that person was talking to him for too long, in too obnoxious a voice. Or when Ollie was in his general presence. Clark sometimes thought Ollie _wanted _to die from the way he seemed to purposely hang around Batman at the most unfortunate moments

But while Clark's weakness might be in a physical form, a form of a rock, of something so simple that a normal person could hold it without feeling a twinge of pain, Bruce had a much bigger weakness.

In a way, Superman was luckier than Batman. Superman was 'indestructible' and he didn't age nearly as fast. He couldn't get human sicknesses, and he had amazing powers. But, in another way, Batman was luckier than Superman. Villains couldn't figure out Batman's weakness, not for the life of them because they didn't _understand_. Many heroes couldn't even figure out his weakness. The Joker came the closest, by targeting innocents, by targeting _Robin_. But the Joker was so insane that he couldn't see the man behind the mask, the pure humanity in his brain. Batman possessed a much bigger, but also a much harder to understand weakness.

Superman himself didn't really get it and the only person who Clark thought _might_ was Flash. And Dick, probably, but Dick was a whole other story. But Flash would get it, even though that weakness applied to him in an extremely different way. That was why, in the end, Wally and Bruce were the most human, even more human than John.

Superman was lucky. His weakness came in the form of a little green rock.

**015. Blue. **

After the training session there was a debriefing. The groups that had been pitted against their weaknesses (in the oddly fitting forms of orange robots) were given a member of the original seven to go to and talk with. To try and understand why, even though the robots were stronger than them, even though they contained the very weakness that brought them down each time they fought in a real battle, they had failed. Why each time superheroes came out on top and their weaknesses were pushed aside.

It was the kind of talk that made people sad.

Wally was given a group of young heroes, probably because he could relate to them better, being young himself, and while they looked at him with (still) slight disrespect, Wally knew that he could gain it. Supergirl was the only one in the room who looked at him with happiness _and _respect.

He would not go easy on them.

"So tell me," he started, folding hands over his lap as he sat in front of them like a teacher might a classroom, "What have you learned?"

They were silent, and Wally found it a bit disappointing. They rolled their eyes, even under the sharp gaze of Supergirl, who was getting angrier by the minute. Wally sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he had originally thought, but definitely not impossible. It was just a matter of peeling back the layers of _disrespect_ to find the ultimate layer of _pain_ that encased them. And he was surprisingly good at that.

He leaned forward a little. "You guys should probably sit down," he said, motioning towards the chairs, "This is going to be a long, long talk if you're going to be difficult."

One of the heroes scoffed a little, but they all sat, Supergirl taking at seat closest and smiling kindly at him. Wally smiled back. He liked Kara a lot, despite the fact that she had been the one to start to rumors of him and Batman a while back.

"This _thing _earlier, with the robots, do you know what that was about?" He started carefully, thoughtfully, and didn't let them answer the rhetorical question. "For all Batman said that it was about respect, it really wasn't. It wasn't a test either. It was about being weak." He laughed a little, and pushed off of the chair suddenly. The heroes stared at him with open disrespect, whispering among themselves during his short pause.

"On the battlefield, you're going to face many enemies," he was interrupted by a snorted, coughing laugh, that he choose to ignore except for the raising of an eyebrow in the direction of a person, "And they will all be strong, they will all be tough. Sometimes, they will know your greatest weakness and they will use it against you. That's why there are arch-nemeses. Your arch-nemesis is not necessarily the most physically powerful of the bunch, but the person who knows and exploits your weakness the best."

He paused again, peering at their faces through the cowl. They were all _trying_ not to pay attention,_ trying_ to disrespect him (except for Kara who was staring at him intently), but they were failing. Wally smiled a little.

"That's why the Joker is Batman's arch-nemesis. That's why Lex Luthor is Superman's. It's why Sinsetro causes the GLs so much trouble and why Amazo was such a _problem_. So, thinking about that, tell me about _your_ greatest weakness." Wally looked them all directly in the eye.

One of them spoke up, "What about you?" He said, venom and disregard in his voice, "If you know so much, who is your arch-nemesis? It's not like I've ever heard of him."

"Yeah," another said, a girl this time, "Everyone knows that you're just some big joke! How come you get to be one of the original members? You do less than most of us do!" Wally was a little insulted, to be honest, but he didn't let it show. Kara growled, but he waved her off.

"A big joke, huh?" He smiled at them, "I do have an arch-nemesis, or I did. But the reason you've never heard of him is because he's dead." Silence fell over the room at those words. An arch-nemesis who was dead? That never happened.

"Or, at least," Wally continued cheerfully, "I think he is. You see, there was once a villain named Professor Zoom." The air thickened. Even though none of them, not even Kara had ever heard of this 'Professor Zoom', it was obvious there was a story behind him.

And so he told them the story of Eobard Thawne and Barry Allen, and how Barry died saving Wally himself. Eobard was supposed to have also, but managed to escape death and came after him again once he got back to this time period.

Wally told them about defeating Professor Zoom after the man attempted to kill his cousin Bart, and then how Professor Zoom killed himself by accident but refused Wally's help when he needed it most. It was a terribly difficult story for Wally to tell, but he felt it was necessary. The heroes stared at him, Kara with intensity and approval and the others with shock and awe in their expressions.

"So, in the end, it was Thawne's own weakness that brought him to his knees," Wally explained carefully, meeting each of their eyes through his mask, "Tell me what you learned from that story."

"Well, sir," one of them said tentatively, and Wally almost snickered at the 'sir', "Zoom's own weakness brought him down even though he knew your weakness so well. I guess it's a villain's sense of pride that always brings them down in the end." Wally nodded. It was true, especially with Eobard Thawne (and possibly Lex Luthor).

"Exactly. What most villains end up forgetting is their own weakness and they get too cocky. And those that don't forget that they, too, can die. They're so focused on killing you that they forget their own limitations." Then he clapped his hands together happily and beamed at them.

"Okay, I think you've all learned your lesson! Think about your weaknesses and how to get past them, though, and always remember that everything, _everything_ dies. Class dismissed!" He smiled and waved them out, giving Kara a quick, tight hug as she whispered a 'good job' in his ear. Then he was alone.

Wally sat down in the seat again and pulled off his cowl, a heavy feeling settling over his shoulders. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with one hand and sighed deeply. Then he looked to the ceiling, a bitter kind of sadness seeping into his being.

"Tell me, Uncle Barry," he whispered into the silence, "Are you proud?"

He was blue for the rest of the evening.

**016. Purple. **

The bruises are dark and purple, stark against the paler skin of his neck and ominously finger-shaped. He stares at them with a kind of morbid fascination, running his own long fingers over the marks and tipping his head to the side to get a better look. They were very noticeable. In a room full of superheroes they would stand out because everyone was always looking for injuries, looking for weaknesses. And while wearing the costume would be the easiest fix in this situation, it was impossible seeing as how the one he'd been wearing had been shredded into non-existence.

Wally sighed and pulled the white shirt over his head, ignoring the way bandages on his chest showed through the thin material. Then went the sweatpants, gray and worn. They were large on him because they were John's, but they would have to do. He'd used up his supply of clothing at the tower the last time there was an emergency like this, and so he was stuck wearing these until he could get to his apartment. He sighed. Eating lunch in civvies that were far too big for him was not his idea of a good time. People would stare.

There was a cough from behind him somewhere, and Wally jumped, spinning around in the same movement and ignoring the twinge it brought to his ribs. A shadow in the corner of the room revealed itself to be Batman, standing there impassively, holding something tightly in his hand.

"Bats?" He asked when his heart calmed down, although it still palpitated a little quicker than usual.

"Flash." The deep voice answered. Batman strode forward, and held up the thing in his hand, which turned out to be a mask. Like the one Dick wore when he was Nightwing. Like the one Robin wore. Wally took it, smiling a little, and fingered the light fabric.

"Thanks, Bats," he whispered into the room, before fixing the mask over his eyes, "How do I look?" Batman stared at him through his cowl, but to Wally, the set of the mouth was a lot more Bruce-like.

"Good. You look good." The Dark Knight said. His voice made Wally shiver, but he turned away and back to the mirror. His face stared back at him, pale with freckles splattered over his nose, his lips chapped and dry. His eyes were covered by the angular mask, something Wally recognized as being the second kind Dick wore. It was nice to think that Batman still carried it around.

"Thanks. And you know," he finally responded, still facing the mirror, although his eyes were focused on the dark shadow that hovered behind him, silent support, "You can call me Wally anytime you want, Bruce."

A gloved hand came out to gently touch one of the bruises on his neck, stroking up and down. Wally winced and trembled with the touch, but didn't stop him.

"Come eat, Wally," the man behind him muttered, "You need food and then these will heal."

The bruises, purple and finger-shaper, made him feel weak. But they also made him feel human.

**017. Brown. **

Fire scared J'onn, and with good reason. He was vulnerable to it, and incredibly so. Like Superman's Kryptonite or John's odd aversion to the color yellow, fire was an enormous weakness of his. The only difference being that fire was dangerous to _everyone_. Fire was a volatile, vicious thing when uncontrolled, and it harmed and killed people, too. Martians might have been particularly susceptible, but humans were often not better off. Superman was able to walk through it like nothing, as was Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl. The Green Lanterns could also, if they encased themselves in their power. But the most human, like Batman and the Flash, they could be burned like he could. But still, they were stronger than he was.

At the moment, though, J'onn was not afraid, although one of his greatest weaknesses was in touching distance, because it was _controlled. _

"_J'onn, trust me, you have nothing to be afraid of."_

And he wasn't.

The people who he now considered his family stood across from him, around him, laughing together and resonating a contentedness that he rarely felt amongst them. Flash (Wally, his mind protested) had a penchant for being right about when they needed a break. Although J'onn had never expected _this_ particular way of going about and relaxing.

They stood with long sticks that had gooey messes on the end, baking in the fire and browning slowly (or quickly, because Wally was so impatient that he burned them as fast as he could and then ate the crispy black outsides and barely-melted insides) to be eaten once they were perfectly crisp and a soft, melted mess on the inside. It was nice, roasting marshmallows, although J'onn had decided to stick with the deliciousness that was Oreo cookies instead of participating.

Wally had been nice enough to pull up a chair for him, and he had planted it away enough from the fire that it didn't make him weak, but close enough to feel the vague warmth that it gave off. In front of him was Diana, holding the stick tenderly and listening to John's instructions on how to rotate it for the best amount of 'toasty-goodness' (as Wally had put it). Next to her was Shayera, also listening to John although pretending not to, and looking at her sugary lump with glee when it caught fire like so many of Flash's had.

Wally, Clark, and Bruce were across from them, Wally standing in between the two other men and chattering away excitedly. Clark was visibly paying attention, although keeping an eye on his slowly warming marshmallow, whereas Bruce was just kind of standing there, eyes narrowed at the fire as though he expected it to leap out at them and attack or something. Which, considering past events, might not be so silly after all, and Batman was known for his paranoia.

The fire highlighted their costumes, the broad shoulders and rock-hard muscles of Superman, his insignia bright on his chest, yet shadowed by the shadow of his jaw. The wirier muscles that adorned the Flash and his skin-tight spandex, the dimples that punched his cheeks when he smiled, and the tight muscles of his calves as he constantly shifted in place. The blue-black of Batman's costume, the slight subtle on a scarred, strong jaw, and the ominous profile his shadow made on the grass behind him. They were obviously powerful, and while two were open (Wally even had his cowl off), one was closed off.

J'onn caught their conversation over the fire, and listened carefully, reveling in the warm tones of Clark's voice, the excited ones of Wally's, and the occasional grunts that escaped Bruce as acknowledgment that he was listening.

"So I told him that Ollie was really sorry and that he really wanted to apologize and- ugh! I burned another one!" Wally sniffled and ate the blackened marshmallow off of the stick, pouting a little. Clark smiled good-naturedly and ate his own perfectly toasted one. Batman was still toasting his first one and barely twitched to show he had noticed Wally's distress. The red-clad speedster shrugged and reached for another one, placing it on the end of his stick.

"As I was saying, I'd told Roy that Ollie wanted to apologize and stuff, but they really just don't get along any more. I know that Dick wants me to help him get Roy to stop bitching about it- not to mention Hal wants me to get _Ollie_ to stop bitching about it, you know how that man doesn't shut up sometimes- but there's really not much I can do at this point. What do you think?" Wally looked to the men beside him with wide green eyes.

Clark shrugged his large shoulders and ate another marshmallow before answering, "Maybe what they really need is a medium. Like Dinah. She's close with both of them, isn't she?"

Wally nodded, looking thoughtful, but he obviously wanted to hear what Bruce had to say because he turned and tugged on the man's cape, saying, "Bats! Tell me what you think!"

Batman cast him a look that probably would have frozen just about anyone else, but Wally ignored it, fixing him with a hopeful stare.

"They both need time. For now, it is best to leave it be. If Dick wants Roy to stop talking about it, he should tell him so." Blunt as always. Wally laughed a little.

"But, _Bats_! That would be so _mean_!" He said childishly. J'onn knew that Bruce was rolling his eyes. Wally probably did too.

"Here. I don't like marshmallows anyways." And in a rare act of kindess, Batman handed over his perfectly toasted, lightly browned marshmallow to Wally, whose expression lit up.

He ate it eagerly, swiping it up with his fingers and getting them sticky with the white goo. Then he sucked on his fingers, unintentionally (or was it?) looking at Batman with lidded eyes. The Dark Knight looked a tad _uncomfortable_.

"Thanks, Bats!" Wally purred. Batman continued to look _uncomfortable_, and Clark raised an eyebrow.

J'onn wondered too. What was going on there?

Then he let it go. They would tell him if they wanted to and not before. Shayera offered him a nice, lightly browned marshmallow and he accepted, popping it into his mouth. Oh, the wonders of romantic, starry nights.

**018. Black. **

It was night, and Gotham was even darker than usual without a moon in the sky to illuminate the streets. Batman ignored this and patrolled anyways, peering through the streets to spot any trouble that might make itself known. His black cape flittered behind him, snatching up shadows and dragging them along. The silence was abundant, and he was left to his thoughts.

Bruce often didn't like his thoughts.

His mind wandered a bit as he swung around Gotham, keeping an eye out for anything from your run-of-the-mill aliens to bank robbers and everything in-between. He was nothing if not efficient and he didn't intend to let anything slide. That wasn't how it working in Gotham, not anymore. While everything he did made a difference, the people who needed to be apprehended got apprehended, the cold-hard fact of the superhero world was that sometimes villains existed purely because the heroes themselves existed, and it was hard to live with that. But if he thought that disappearing into the dirt would make the Joker go away, he would have done it long ago. Bruce knew the world didn't work like that.

Recently, Gotham had been… quiet. A little too quiet, Batman didn't like it. But then again, things with the Justice League had been busier than ever. Since they recruited more members, it seemed that more and more villains were targeting the Justice League. Which was understandable, but annoying. Very annoying.

Kind of like the Flash. Batman had found himself thinking more and more about the Flash lately, and that in itself was irritating. But he couldn't bring himself to be unkind to the red-clad speedster because his very presence made something inside of Batman… twinge. It wasn't necessarily a _bad_ twinge, but he distrusted it anyways. New twinges were rarely a good thing in his world because it meant brining on _feelings_. And having any kind of feelings for Flash was not a good thing, because Wally liked to be in the lights. He liked to bask in the sun and smile brightly enough to light up an entire room.

None of this helped Bruce. No, Batman preferred the dark, the black, where he could melt away without a sound and leap out at the bright blobs of color that were usually villains. He liked shadows that were inky and deep, that could hide even the pure white of his eyes and the glint of his utility belt. Batman was made for the blackness of night, the depth of shadows, and the endless gloomy maze that was Gotham.

But he couldn't help himself. Wally was… one of a kind, in many ways. He had known the speedster for a while, even met him during his days as a sidekick to… the other Flash. They had never really spoken until that fateful day when J'onn got them all together. At first the Flash had seemed like a joke, a superhero who used his quick mouth to piss their enemies off and flirt. But Wally had proved them all wrong, and there was a method to his madness. Batman knew that now and he could appreciate it.

It was bad. Nightwing hadn't warned him how _charming_ the Flash could be, nor how dedicated he was. And Wally was dedicated to the hero business. Just like Bruce.

But the massive differences between them is what made him hesitate (mainly), Wally was the light and he was the dark. Although, he had always appreciated people who could keep up with him, who gave a fight, and Wally certainly did that.

The Flash was well-known for being a jokester and a flirt, yes, but he was also well-known for standing up what he believed in and not letting anyone pull things that he didn't like. Flash kept a firm eye towards the real meaning of justice, and he was their ultimate conscience, their heart and soul. Batman may be their financial backup, but it was Wally who they couldn't live without.

He remembered the day when Wally had come in, pacing and looking upset. Bruce had been alone, but when the speedster had come in looking so sad, he had naturally been concerned. It was on that day that Batman had promised to never let the Justice League to become the Justice Lords, regardless of the circumstances. He intended to keep that promise.

Finally, a scream sounded. His focus turned to the petty robber and his victim, thoughts of Wally vanishing from his mind.

After, when Batman disappeared into the inky black shadows, when he was encased in the kind of warm emptiness that only being invisible felt like, did he feel safe. And allow his mind to wander back to Wally.

What should he do…

The rich, blue, almost black night slowly faded to a gray twilight.

**019. White. **

It was Valentine's Day. One of Wally's favorite days of the year. He skipped around the tower, eyes shining behind his cowl, putting up bright pink and red decorations. Hopefully, no one would notice until it was too late.

Kara was walking down the hall, giggling with Dinah over something that probably had to do with Ollie. As soon as the two women saw him and the mass of decorations behind him, their faces lit up and they ran to him. Wally beamed.

"Flash! Did you do this?" Dinah asked, hands on her hips as she studied a large, neon pink heart that he had taped to the wall.

"Yep!" He squealed enthusiastically, "All of it. But don't tell any of the others, because only Superman would support this!"

Kara giggled again and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well I think its sweet. The decorations look really good!"

Wally grinned widely at her, bouncing in place, "Thanks, Supergirl! Well, ladies, I gotta run, put up the rest of these decorations before Bats and GL get home," he winked, "They'll kill me!" He sped off, waving, and leaving the two smiling after him.

Dinah took a closer look at one of the hearts to reveal a 'GA hearts BC' in tiny letters on the side. She wondered what it meant for a few minutes before it hit her. Aw! That was so cute!

Wally had soon adorned the entire Watchtower with obnoxious pink and red things, before locking himself in the Communications Room and picking up the microphone, dreaming up a million evil things to say. But instead, he stuck with his original plan.

"Hey all, it is Flash here!" He said cheerfully, "So seeing as how today is Valentine's Day, I've decided to set up something special for all of you. There is now a flower service! Do you have a sweetheart who you want to get a nice rose for? Well, now you can. There is a number posted on the bulletin board where you can order the flowers. They will be delivered by our very own cupids to your crush or love or secret love. Have fun, and know that all funds will go towards awesome Justice League parties!" Satisfied with himself, Wally exited the room and went to go hide in his own room, dreading when Batman and John would find him, and kill him.

He locked the door.

Sales were going well, and mysterious cupids were popping up everywhere, usually grinning mischievously. One of them had black hair and would slide from the shadows seemingly out of nowhere; giving the person he had a flower for a wink (even though his eyes were hidden) and then relaying the message that went with the flower before disappearing again. The other one had floppy auburn hair and would zip up to their target, give them the flower and a huge grin, before running away again extremely fast, suspiciously like Wally himself.

Diana had already gotten ten from him and five from the other one, all from various 'secret admirers' except for one from Flash himself (which she smiled at, mainly because it was a beautiful orange color) and one from Shayera (it was a yellow, which was supposed to represent friendship). The others were all either pink or red. She wasn't really sure what to think, but decided to be flattered.

At the moment, Diana was sitting in a room with a seething Green Lantern and an obliviously happy Superman, both of which had a cluster of flowers around them. Only Clark was enjoying his, though, with a wide smile and a sparkle in his eye. John was just… kind of glaring at them, as if expecting Wally to jump out from the pile and give himself away.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," John finally muttered, voice grumbly and annoyed, "We specifically told him not to put up decorations or do anything special."

Diana smiled sweetly at him and breathed in the amazing sent of roses before speaking, "Oh, calm down, John. I think it's very nice. A little unorthodox, maybe, but it's very sweet." Superman looked up and nodded, seeming to agree with this sentiment.

"Just wait until Batman hears about it," Shayera said as she walked in, carrying a large armful of her own roses, "Thanks for the rose, Diana." Wonder Woman smiled at her friend. Although they had had their differences in the past, it was nice to be friends with her again. Shayera had the kind of strength she often missed in women from Earth.

"You're very much welcome, Shayera. And stop pouting, John, it's getting to be a little annoying. Wally had nothing but good intentions." And with that she got up and walked out, intending to go send Wally a flower of her own.

When Batman had seen the decorations upon entering the tower, a small seed of annoyance settled in his stomach. Flash…

When Batman had seen the flowers, and his own large pile (all of which were sent anonymously, except ones from Clark, Shayera, and, ironically, Wally), that seed of annoyance had grown, filling him.

When Batman had seen _Tim_ of all people in the tower, dressed in a ridiculous pink costume and handing out flowers like some kind of cupid, he had visibly seethed. Seeing Kid Flash had only made him angrier and so then finding Flash became top priority.

"Flash," he announced in a dark voice over the speakers, "I will find you eventually. It would be much better for your personal health if you were to reveal yourself now." The entirety of the tower shuddered in response, but continued with their business, feeling a twinge of pity for poor, well-meaning Flash.

"And you too, Robin." All that got was a mysterious cackle. He sat there and seethed some more.

Wally knew that his hiding was only getting him into more trouble, but there he was, lying on the bed and sweating after that last announcement. He readied himself to be subjected to monitor duty every night for the next month.

But there was still something he had to do.

"Bart," he muttered into the communicator, "Give that last flower I told you to hand out to Batman, okay?"

"Batman? Do you have a death wish, Wally?" His cousin teased back, "Or maybe a crush?"

Wally flushed from where he was lying, "Shut up! I do not! Just give it to him!" Then he promptly hung up the connection, trying to ignore the laughter that rung in his ears. He huffed and crossed arms over his chest. Stupid Bart…

Batman had been surprised, to say the least, when he had been found by Kid Flash and given a grin along with a pure white flower. If he was correct, the list had said that white meant 'true love'. Getting it was surprising, embarrassing (considering Kid Flash had caught him in the cafeteria where many other people were), and a little… curious. He accepted it with a fierce glare, which made Kid Flash speed away.

Clark gave him a large grin, which was a little nervous, considering his disposition. Everyone in the cafeteria stared. No one _else_ had gotten a white flower. It was a big statement.

"So, whose it from?" Clark asked eagerly. Batman suppressed (barely) the urge to kill him.

Nonetheless, he reached over to the tag to see who it was from.

"It doesn't say," he finally announced. And he wasn't lying.

From upstairs Wally sighed with longing and dismissed Tim and Bart with many thanks and fifty dollars each.

_You may always wear a mask,_

_And you may think you are a dark, black soul,_

_But I think you are white, and pure,_

_And I love you._

**020. Colorless. **

The water around him was see-through, colorless. It rushed into his ears and wide eyes, making his limbs heavy as he thrashed. The water suffocated him, pressed down on his body with its incredible weight and rendered his usual speed useless. The hands pushing on his body, wrapping around his shoulders and holding him down tightly, were terrifying. Wally squeezed his eyes shut and writhed as best he could, but already he was weakening.

The lack of air made his limbs grow stiller by the second, made his attempts to escape weaker and weaker. Everything was fuzzy, and his mind was turning back, and his lungs withered with the need for air. He opened his mouth to see if there was any, and choked, swallowing water. It flooded into his systems and made them soggy. He fell still, stopped thrashing, and the blackness took over his mind completely.

When J'onn lost connection with Flash's mind, he panicked a bit. Nothing like this had ever really happened before, and while the others had been distracted and busy (himself included), something had happened to his friend. All of a sudden a rush of terror, and then nothing. It was disturbing to say the least.

"Flash!" He cried, fighting off one of the villains and rendering him unconscious, before running towards where he'd felt the speedster last.

It took him to the edge of a pool, which was clear anything except for a floating red body. J'onn's eyes widened and he reached for the body with his telepathy, rising it into the air and floating it gently to rest on the ground before him.

Stooping low, J'onn quickly checked for a pulse, but felt nothing. That, along with the blankness of Wally's mind was alarming, and so he called for Batman over the link of telepathy that went through the whole team, which consisted of him, Batman, Flash, Booster Gold, and Supergirl.

From what J'onn could tell, Wally had drowned and was in need of oxygen. There was nothing he could do about getting his friend any because he was a Martian and therefore didn't need oxygen. It was quite a predicament, and because he was sure that Batman would know how to deal with this, he called to him.

The Dark Knight was struggling with an opponent on the other side of the room, but at J'onn's desperate call, looked over and managed to knock his opponent unconscious in the same instant. His masked eyes narrowed at the sight of the still speedster.

The others were wrapping up with their fights, too, but Batman ignored them and got there as quickly as possible, a dark shadow hovering over J'onn's shoulder. He had never been more relieved to have it. J'onn refused to lose another person he loved.

"I believe he has drowned, and if I am correct, he needs oxygen." Batman nodded shortly and pushed J'onn aside, kneeling beside Wally. He pressed his hands into a place just below Wally's ribs and started to push up and down harshly, lips set in a grim line.

It was at times like that that J'onn was reminded that despite his speed, Flash was still just human, and so was Batman. After last month, when Wally had almost been strangled, with bruises on his neck and everything, he had been thinking about the humans on the league a little more. Humans had bodies that seemed so much weaker than his own, and Diana's, and Clark's, and even Shayera's.

John, Bruce, and Wally were… weaker than him. But at the same time, they were also so much stronger.

This he knew from their many battles, from the visits into their minds, from seeing them every day and _knowing_ them. Bruce Wayne and John Stewart and Wally West might have their weaknesses (like him, like Clark, like Diana, like Shayera), but they also had their incredible strengths and they used them. It was nice, once in a while, to see the vulnerability of humans used for good, instead of evil, as it so often was.

He focused on their other two team members. The last of the enemies had been taken down, and so Supergirl and Booster Gold made their way over, each smiling cheerfully with triumph. However, when they caught sight of the still, pale Flash and the grim Batman, they sobered up, rushing over to J'onn and staring at Flash with wide eyes.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Supergirl asked worriedly, looking down at her friend and biting her lip.

"Is he dead?" Booster Gold asked anxiously.

J'onn answered as calmly as he could, "His heart has stopped beating, yes, but Batman is doing all he can to restart it."

They cast looks to Batman who was still pushing on his chest and now leaned over and pressed his lips to Flash's still ones, breathing into the slightly open mouth himself. His eyes narrowed when nothing happened and he did it again.

Luckily, it seemed that this time was the charm and Wally let in a strangled breath, Batman's lips still pressed lightly to his. Batman pulled himself up as Wally lurched to his side and coughed out large amounts of water, retching onto the cold stone floor.

"Wally!" Supergirl shrieked in happiness, falling to her knees and throwing out her arms around her friend, "You're okay!" Wally looked a bit surprised, and very tired. He reached up and patted her on the back, though, smiling a little weakly.

J'onn smiled and finally relaxed, and Booster grinned widely, clapping Batman on the back, who had stood up while the two were hugging.

"Yeah, I am," Flash said tiredly, "Close call, huh?" He chuckled a little and everyone glared at him. How dare he made a joke at a time like this!

"We should leave," Batman growled out, just as police sirens sounded, "You need more medical attention, Flash." Supergirl finally let Wally go, who made to stand up, but Batman stopped him with a hand. Then he picked up him bridal style, one arm under Wally's leg and another firm under his shoulders. Wally let out a surprised squeak and struggled, but Batman glared fiercely.

"You are in no condition to walk right now, Flash. You will debrief us on what happened later." Then he started walking away. Everyone stared after the Dark Knight in amazement, while Wally gave up and relaxed in strong arms, pouting a little.

But also secretly enjoying it.

J'onn smiled. His friend was very… transparent. Easy to read, and clear with his emotions. It was a shame that Batman refused to believe what the speedster felt for him, it would be good for the Dark Knight to have a little light in his life.

As they walked away from the pool, J'onn looked back briefly. The water was as stagnant and colorless as ever, this time with no bright red body floating in it. He stopped himself from shuddering, but reconnected with Wally's mind just to be sure.

"_Oh, J'onn, I'm being _carried_ by him!_" Wally shrieked at him in his thoughts. J'onn mentally chuckled, and watched as Flash cuddled himself in Batman's arms as subtly as possible.

Even Booster was looking at the two with slightly narrowed eyes, as though starting to suspect something. Supergirl smiled with knowingness. J'onn gave them both a warning look. Supergirl just winked and continued to smile, while Booster flushed a little and rubbed his head.

Then J'onn remembered Blue Beetle and smirked a little himself.

So transparent…

But love didn't make anyone weak. And he truly believed that.


	5. Relationships

**Arc: **_Relationships_  
><strong>Titles: <strong>_Friends, Enemies, Lovers, Family, Strangers, Teammates, Parents, Children  
><em>**Characters: **_Multiple POVs, the Justice League, lots of Wally and Bats, other  
><em>**Pairings: **_one-sided/possibly returned!BatFlash, implied!past!not-serious!Dick/Wally/Roy (as a threesome), Booster Gold/Blue Beetle  
><em>**Warnings: **_Mentions of blood and violence and death, mentions of threesomes (in a not-serious way), implied slashy making-out, implications to 'aching' for someone (in both ways XD __)  
><em>**Word Count: **_5, 948 according to Word. Kind of long, kind of choppy.  
><em>**A/N: **_I'm terribly sorry about the super, super late update, but I got really, really sick and missed school for a week, and then I was super stressed with making it up. But, I managed to update! However, I feel like I should warn you: some of this might be really, really bad. I wrote most of it while loopy on medicine and sick, and other parts of it sporadically. I'm extremely apologetic for the spelling and grammar mistakes, and also the excessive use of commas. I know I have a problem. The next one will be shorter, though, which means probably more well-written. I hope this doesn't completely fail your expectations, because I also feel a lot of it isn't funny. Oh, and I apologize for the 'Parents' one. That one was hard to write, and is probably equally as hard to read. _

**021. Friends.**

Wally was friends with a lot of people. He had friends in his day job, they were all intelligent, science-geek people like him, and he liked spending time with them. He hated having to lie, though. Most of them had probably figured it out.

Same with the people in his apartment building, they were all his friends, and most of them had probably figured out long ago that he was the Flash. For sure Mrs. Alvarez from the apartment next door knew, and she often left him huge batches of cookies. They were nice people, people who would never give him away. Wally intended to keep them safe.

In the Justice League, as well, he had many friends. Everyone from Clark, who was friends with just about the entire world (sans Lex Luthor, although there were rumors about that too…), to Orion, who had no friends except for Wally. Orion had learned to respect him, and through that Wally taught him friendship. He deserved to know.

Wally's _best_ friends, of course, had to be John and Dick and Roy. John was around most often these days, and so was Shayera. Wally called Dick often, and saw Roy even less, but he still remembered. He, Dick, and Roy had always been close and whenever they did get together, that connection came back very strong.

He treasured his friends deeply. After losing his uncle, and then his mom, it had been hard. Losing his aunt had been even harder. Bart was his only family left, and Wally couldn't even take care of him properly. He regretted it every day, and prayed to God that Bart wasn't bitter. The last time he had seen his tiny cousin was Valentine's Day after he blackmailed Tim into being a cupid and Tim asked Bart nicely to join him. Oh, Bart. Wally missed him sometimes, when he was alone in his apartment.

So yeah, Wally considered his friends to be family. One big, often dysfunctional family that slept with each other at random and shared deeply intimate moments that involved sex pollen and handcuffs. Yes, he, Dick, and Roy had certainly experienced that side of their love. They had promised never to mention it again.

Now, he sat in another, extremely large Justice League meeting, feeling oddly detached from the talk of Watchtower updates. He stared at his friends, spread out around him, and tried to ignore Batman, who was sitting next to him. It was difficult, because every so often the Dark Knight's arm would brush his, sending tingles up his spine.

Wally knew that Batman was much, much more than a friend. Even if he didn't feel the same way.

**022. Enemies. **

Wally had many enemies. As a superhero, this was only natural, and he had grown used to it. All superheroes had. Sometimes, in this world, even friends turned into enemies. Wally hated it when that happened.

It was hardest when a friend of yours turned into an enemy because they chose to, because they wanted to. Because they truly hated you.

The one time that Wally had not been afraid to defeat his friends when they were enemies was when _his_ Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl were traded with evil ones from another world. If the Justice Lords had been bad, these guys had been even worse. But at the same time, they had also been much simpler, because the Justice Lords were _almost_ good and yet _almost_ bad at the same time.

Defeating Hawkgirl and Green Lantern when they confronted him had been easier than he'd anticipated, and while neither John nor Shayera were simple opponents, fighting evil was always easier than fighting good, Wally found. He had managed to render them unconscious and taken them to the room where _his_ Batman kept a portal- a universe jumper. For occasions like this.

Defeating Wonder Woman had been more difficult. A Wonder Woman from any world was a better, stronger, fighter than him, but at the same time, Wonder Woman had never truly understood what it was to fight a Flash. He had tricked her into going through the portal himself, and could only hope that he was sending her to the right place.

He came across Martian Manhunter then, who stepped through the portal of his own accord. J'onn was… difficult to make truly evil in any situation, and Wally worried for the world if he ever was. Worried for all the worlds. They had nodded at each other as _their_ J'onn passed him. Understanding, as only a psychic could be.

Superman had been next, and it had taken Wally's knowledge of Batman's extra utility belt and the Kryptonite inside of that to drag _their_ Man of Steel back to the portal, sending him to what Wally hoped was the right world.

Wally didn't come across Batman, not really. Instead, at that moment, _his_ teammates came back and when Wally hugged them all tightly, they did not refuse. Even Batman let Wally's arms twine around him, gentle in case of injuries, and patted him on the back. They didn't say anything before going off to search for the other Batman.

Wally only made it to the very end of the fight.

"You feel for him." The cool tones of _a _Batman, but Wally knew that the rougher edge meant it was _their _Batman, not _his_.

"I feel for many people." That voice was the one Wally… loved.

"I see." And that was it for conversation. When they stopped, and Wally heard fighting break out, he sped into the room to help.

He and Batman subdued the other Batman enough to send him through the portal, although Wally got the feeling that the other Batman wanted to go back. It was probably no fun in this world for him.

As they left the room together, _his_ Dark Knight walking closely beside him, Wally could feel that steady, masked gaze on his face. It was making him freak out on the inside.

"Flash," Batman started, gravelly and stern as ever, but Wally felt that this was extra important, "You… did well today." Wally looked at him, surprised. Batman's praises were far and few in between, but that didn't mean they didn't happen. He was more surprised because it sounded more like Batman had changed his mind at the last minute, instead saying something else.

Licking his lips, Wally replied, "Thanks, Bats. Those, uh, _other_ members really freaked me out, you know?" Looking at his crush, who was still walking beside him, not looking at him, Wally was shocked when Batman turned his head to look straight into his masked eyes.

"The _other_ Flash freaked me out, too."

It wasn't a sentence that Wally could hear Batman saying. But he _had_ and that was all that mattered. Batman was his, at least, friend.

_And all that mattered, was that for every enemy, there was a friend._

**023. Lovers. **

Bruce Wayne was a player, so he'd had many lovers. But they weren't really _lovers_ when you thought about, more like one night stands. The women were okay with it, they were using him just as much as he was using them.

Of course, there had been a _few_ he had loved and considered lovers. Like Selina and Talia. At one time, both of them had meant more to him than almost anyone else. That time had passed. For now, Bruce was without a _lover_, although he was not for lack for one night stands. Sometimes he hated being a player.

The thing about having a lover, especially as a superhero, was that it was dangerous to get too attached. It was dangerous to let that person in, to let them into your bed _and_ your heart. Once they were in it was difficult to push them out.

But then there were the good things about having a lover. A lover was someone you could trust endlessly, someone who you could rely on and shower with affection. Your lover knew a lot about you and wanted to care for you just as you wanted to care for them. They were your strength, and in return, you were theirs. His favorite thing about having a lover was the feeling that came with it- you were usually happy around them. Sometimes, happy enough even to forget, just a little bit, the sad.

Bruce was not stupid, or oblivious. He saw the looks that Wally gave him, the casual touches, the blushing, and the boundless desire to do anything- absolutely anything- for Batman. Yet, at the same time, Wally was strong enough to deny him, to fight him, and fast enough to make up for it. Wally was almost,_ almost_ ideal. He could… love him, if he ever tried.

But Bruce, he was scared.

Taking a lover was one of the scariest things he'd ever had to do, and he didn't want to ruin things with Wally- the Flash. So, he ignored it. Eventually, the speedster would let go and move on. And Bruce would let him.

**024. Family. **

Wally leaned back onto John, shifting until he was comfortable and ignored the man´s exasperated sigh. Shayera, who sat on John´s other side, wing tucked against his shoulder, smiled and tucked herself more firmly against the man she still loved. John gave another sigh, but didn´t do anything and they continued to watch the television, which showed a live rendition of _Titus Andronicus_ in a theater somewhere in Canada.

Superman walked in on their party, taking in the three on the couch (who were practically cuddling), the popcorn (which had been scattered all over when Wally had jumped on John in excitement), and the show they were watching (Lavinia had just come out, hands cut off and tongue cut out, shaking with grief and blood pooling on the floor around her). He turned around to leave, but was instead met with Wally's bright smile.

"Oh, fine, I'll stay," the Man of Steel huffed, sitting down on the other end of the couch and finding himself with a lapful of Wally-feet, "What are we watching?"

"_Titus Andronicus_," Shayera said, not taking her eyes of the screen and popping a piece of salvaged popcorn into her mouth, "It's one of Shakespeare's many plays." On screen, the characters lamented and Lavinia continued to shake.

They sat in silence, eyes glued to the screen as the old, beautiful English that Shakespeare had written in washed over them. The story itself was thrilling, if gory, and while the _justice_ of it all might not appeal to them, they were all very aware that it wasn't about justice. It was about revenge.

Nearing the end of the play, Wally, who was exhausted from a mission earlier and who had also already seen the play before, fell asleep on John. When the play ended, and John looked down to nudge his redheaded friend off so that they could leave, he found a sleeping face and sighed.

"He fell asleep." John said mildly. Shayera looked over and smiled.

"Aw! He did. He must be tired from that mission earlier." She slid away from John and stretched out, spreading her wings as far as they would go.

"Oh, Wally. The things you make me do." John shook his head, then used his ring to lift the Flash up and off of him, before getting up himself and setting the sleeping man down on the couch again. Superman covered him with a blanket. Wally looked peaceful.

"I would stay, but I have monitor duty," GL announced, sending one last stern, fond look at Wally before exiting the room. Shayera nodded to Superman and left also.

Clark decided to sit a while. He so rarely got to do so, after all, and watching the Fastest Man Alive sleep was relaxing, somehow. Usually the red-clad speedster was jumping and buzzing around, seeing him so tranquil was odd, to say the least.

Just then, Batman walked in, as stoic as ever and stared momentarily at the sleeping Flash and then Superman.

"He fell asleep while watching a play with us," Batman knew what 'us' meant, "To be honest, it's very relaxing to see _him_ so relaxed."

There was the twitch of a smile on Batman's lips and he came around the couch, sitting beside Superman. Needless to say, the Man of Steel was a little shocked.

"It is, isn't it." Bruce finally said. Clark smiled. Very relaxing.

"You don't think he's being overworked, do you?" Clark suddenly asked as it occurred to him. He could _hear_ Bruce raising an eyebrow behind the mask, eyes flicking to their redheaded friend.

The Dark Knight was silent for a while. "I doubt it," he finally said, "We would notice."

Clark smiled. "I guess. I just worry about him, you know?" Bruce's lips twitched again. His silent '_I do_' was clear. "I worry about all of them."

Bruce thought he could understand.

They were family now.

**025. Strangers. **

The people the Flash saved were strangers to him. But they were still human, and therefore they deserved to live. That was what he believed. It was a hero's duty to make sure that these people were safe, that they were saved. Even if Wally knew sometimes it wasn't that simple.

Last year alone, there were 27 deaths that occurred at places where the Justice League was dispatched. From people who worked in buildings they accidentally destroyed to innocents who died in the fire they tried to make it to in time. It was the risk that came with the job, the risk that every hero took- that they might be responsible for the death of a civilian.

Once, Barry had talked to him about this, explaining very carefully that civilian deaths… happened. Sometimes, there just isn't anything you can do. Sometimes, they die anyways. It was a fact of life, one that Wally had come to accept. Barry had also told him that it was okay, the millions of lives they saved in the process was what mattered.

Wally, for the longest time, hadn't understood. Wasn't it the hero's job to save _everyone_? When Barry had died, he'd finally gotten it. You just couldn't save everyone, no matter how hard you tried.

Not the strangers, and not your loved ones. Not the little girl on the fourteenth floor, not the man crushed beneath a ceiling. Not even your own uncle and mentor.

Wally, at this point in his life, had saved more strangers than he had loved ones. He wondered if it meant he wasn't _really_ a hero after all.

**026. Teammates. **

They sat on a couch, staring at the blank, black TV screen, and wincing every time another muffled noise made it through the walls.

"So everyone else saw that, right?" Wally suddenly asked, halfway between completely shocked and absolutely mystified.

From where she was perched on the cushion next to him, Shayera nodded dumbly, shock written across her face as well.

"It was… odd. And shocking," she said, "But somehow… I feel as though we should have expected something like this." John, sitting on the other side of Shayera, nodded firmly in agreement, and although it wasn't splayed out over his features like it was over Wally and Shayera's, it was still obvious that he was stunned as well.

"I was not expecting that." Wally said, eyes wide behind the cowl. He sent a glance to the doorway, where muffled noises still spilled through every so often.

Shayera scowled a bit, "Not that I have a problem with their relationship or anything, but couldn't they find a more _private_ place to make out? Anyone could walk in on them- it's a hallway!" She exclaimed, sending glare towards the door.

John shuddered. "It's bad enough that we saw _part _of it!" He gulped, then smirked, "Can you imagine what would happen if Batman caught them?" At this, a wide grin spread over Wally's features and he laughed.

"What's so funny?" Shayera asked, smacking him on the shoulder, "Batman catching those two making out would be…"

"Hilarious," he completed, sounding positively gleeful, "It would be hilarious because of his _expression_!" Wally continued to laugh, shoulders shaking.

"I don't know," John said, "Batman doesn't exactly seem the type to adhere to co-worker relationships." Inside of his head, Wally frowned, knowing it was true.

Outwardly, he shrugged, "It's their fault, making out in the open like that. I don't want to listen to this anymore," he winced as another muffled moan made it through, "Let's go watch the movie somewhere else."

The other two nodded and they all stood up, making for the other door out of the room. Shayera glanced back one final time.

"Still, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle? How could we not have seen it before?"

J'onn narrowed in on Flash, who was sprawled out in one of the cafeteria chairs and made a beeline for the red clad speedster. Wally looked up from where he was sucking despondently on a cookie, and tried for a smile. At seeing his friend downtrodden, J'onn relaxed his gaze a little and sat down next to him.

"You know, J'onn," Wally finally spoke, "You were right." The Martian arched an eyebrow at him, snatching up an Oreo for himself.

"About what, may I ask, Flash?"

Wally shook his head, "Call me Wally when we're not on duty." J'onn inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"Wally, then."

"Oreos do make a person feel better." Then he grinned a wide, white-toothed grin and slapped J'onn lightly on the back as he stood up. Smiling, Wally sped off, presumably to report to Superman like he was supposed to. J'onn was left staring after him, eating the rest of the Oreos.

'_Batman…_' The thought trailed out from a certain hyper-active speedster's mind at the last minute and J'onn's felt a stab of sadness for his friend.

"Oh Wally, my friend, you should just tell him." Then he bit into the last of the Oreos.

"Wally," a sweet voice sounded behind him, "Wait." He did, turning to see Diana striding up to him, smiling a little.

"Hey, Princess," he said kindly, "What's up?" Diana's blue eyes sparkled and when she reached him they set off together, in the vague direction of the cafeteria.

"Not much, Wally," he fondly recalled the first time he had asked her that and she had told him _exactly_ what was up, namely the ceiling, "I just… wanted to talk with you." His eyes brightened, and he immediately linked arms with her.

Wally looked at her with curiosity, "What did you want to talk about?" Diana looked down and blushed a little. They stopped walking, standing in the empty hallway.

"Have you ever been in love?" Wally blinked at her.

"Well…" he trailed off a bit, "Yes. Why, princess?" Diana looked him straight in the eye.

"How do you know when you're in love?" She asked, and had it been Wally, he would have been fiddling with his hands and looking down. But this was Wonder Woman, and she was looking directly at him, unblushing and strong. Wally smiled a bit.

"You just… know, princess," he replied, trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about, "I suppose you could describe it as a tingly, warm feeling, but it's not always like that." Wally knew this mainly because he was in love as he was speaking, although not to the person he was speaking to.

"You just know?" Diana questioned, looking thoughtful. "Is it easy to tell when someone else is in love?"

At this, Wally shrugged, "Sometimes. If that person blushes a lot around the person they love, or if they try to spend all their time with them, or if they protect them even more fiercely than anyone else. But protecting the person you love- that isn't only in romantic love, it's in all kinds." Diana smiled fondly at this.

"I guess that's right," her eyes brightened and she put a strong hand on his shoulder, "Wally, I want you to know that I love you." He blinked in shock, eyes widening behind the mask and stared at her for a moment. The Amazonian princess giggled a little, looking for all the world like a normal person despite the costume she wore and the way she held herself.

"Not romantically, but I have that urge to protect you. Like you said." Diana cleared up for him, before taking her hand off and heading towards the cafeteria.

Wally grinned.

"Love you too, princess!" He yelled, catching up to her easily.

Clark dug happily into the piece of steaming apple pie in front of him, the smooth and sweet texture sliding over his tongue. He sighed at the pleasure that erupted over his taste buds and closed his eyes. There was a bit of a breeze, and then a _click_ while a flash of light pierced through his eyelids. Clark opened them, surprised.

"Flash? What are you doing?" He asked, blinking at the sight of the speedster with a camera in hand and a sparkle in his unmasked eyes. The cowl lay around his neck, bunched up. Batman wouldn't be happy about it, but then again, Batman wasn't there at the moment.

"Taking pictures!" Wally said excitedly, and pushed the button again, catching Superman's still-surprised face on camera. "Seeing you eat apple pie with that expression was just too good to pass up, and well, your surprised expression is pretty great too."

Clark wanted to be annoyed, he really did, but the twinkle in those green eyes and the easy smile spread over that face held him back, and forced his lips into an upwards curve also.

"I see," he said simply, "And how many pictures have you managed to take today?"

Wally sat down across from him, setting the camera gingerly on the table before answering him, "I got a lot of John and Shayera, mostly with each other," Clark stifled a laugh at this, "A few of J'onn, who must have let me because he couldn't be bothered to move during that meditation thing he does," that was true, plus J'onn probably didn't really care, "And some of Diana, also. I asked her to pose for me while we had lunch today. It was fun!"

Clark nodded and took another bite of his pie.

"None of Batman yet, I suppose?" Wally's face fell a little and Clark suddenly felt bad, "I'm sure you'll get him though," he continued cheerfully. Flash's face lit right back up.

"You're totally right, Supes!" He grinned and slapped the Man of Steel lightly on the shoulder, before clicking another picture of 'encouraging Superman' and zooming off. Clark stared after him.

"I guess he doesn't want any pie, then," he smiled through the words, "Oh, well, more for me." And dug right back in.

Wally found Batman in the kitchen, which was a little surprising, although even someone like him had to eat sometime, right? What was even more surprising, however, was the food he was eating. It was the last of the German Chocolate Cake from when they'd thrown a coming out party for Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. A _surprise _coming out party that had been mainly Wally, Kara, and Shayera's doing, but it had been a lot of fun and both heroes were grateful.

The cake had been exceptional.

"Hey, Bats," Wally said easily, and swiping up some of the icing with his finger, "What's up?" He sucked it off his finger innocently, ignoring the way those masked eyes narrowed.

"Eating cake," The Dark Knight shortly, "What do you want?" It was a good thing that Wally had _some _control, because otherwise the word 'you' might have popped out of his mouth just then. He could only be thankful that it hadn't. At least Batman had answered his question.

"Yummy," Wally said as he licked some more icing from his finger, "And nothing in particular, just wanted to hang out." He smiled at Batman, who must have been in a majorly excellent mood because he didn't scowl like Wally thought he would.

"If you want some cake, just cut yourself a piece." Batman grumbled.

"I don't know, Bats," he teased, "It looks like you're really enjoying that cake there. If I take it, you might be upset." Batman glared at him, then _very _pointedly cut another piece of cake. He put it on his own plate, shoving the last of his piece aside and stuck his fork into the cake.

"Flash."

Wally blinked, then opened his mouth to respond. However, he was hindered from answering by the fork that was stuffed in his mouth, delicious German Chocolate cake washing over his tongue. He let out a surprised noise, gathering a slight smirk from Batman, and then chewed and swallowed, sending his teammate a slightly annoyed look.

"Gee, thanks, Bats, but-" and then another piece was in his mouth. Wally's eyes widened and he squirmed again, giving Batman an indignant work.

"No, really, I-" and he was cut off by a third piece. Wally gave up. He probably could have stopped the Dark Knight from stuffing cake into his mouth using his powers but where was the fun in that? Besides, his secret love was _feeding_ him, albeit out of amusement and annoyance at his never ending teasing, but he was still _feeding _him.

When the piece of cake was all gone, Wally just kind of stared. Batman stared back. They turned away from each other and smiled at the same time.

Flash let out a short yelp has he was slammed into the wall hard enough to bruise his back. Hawkgirl let out a yell at his attacker (who was some drug-enhanced thug) as he slid down the wall, wincing, then charged at the villain, mace out in front of her.

Wally grimaced as he forced himself to stand, ignoring the tenderness in his back as he did so. Shayera, who had finished rendering the thug unconscious, made her way towards him, eyes bright with adrenaline.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. My back hurts a little, but it'll heal," he responded, "Let's catch up with the others." Hawkgirl nodded and they set off, Flash slowing his pace down enough to stay with her as she flew above him.

They made their way out of the alley way and onto the main street where Superman and Wonder Woman had finished up with the aliens who had taken the thugs under their control and given them the strength enhancements. Both smiled, thrumming with leftover adrenaline.

"Flash, Hawkgirl," Superman greeted, "We're done here. I assume you're enemies have been apprehended?"

Shayera cracked her knuckles and grinned, "Basically, I pounded them into unconsciousness, with Flash's help. The police are coming to pick them up." Superman frowned briefly.

"They_ were _under the control of these aliens, they shouldn't be arrested."

"The police know that. When Bats called it in, he made sure to mention it," Wally smiled widely, "And if that's done, then maybe we can go back and get some pizza?"

Superman rolled his eyes, but his lips had turned up at the corners, "Of course you want food. Well, then, we'll head back to the tower and have some pizza." Flash cheered, pumping a fist triumphantly in the air and Wonder Woman sent him an amused look.

"Where are Bats, J'onn, and John?" Wally asked, wanting to get back to the tower.

"They took the main ship," a loud _screech_ came from a little ways away, "And that was probably them officially taking it down." Superman replied with an almost _proud_ twinkle in his eyes. As if on cue, Batman, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter around the corner, looking every bit the part of a battle worn hero, billowing capes, glowing eyes, and all.

Wally bounced up to them in excitement, "We're going to go have some pizza now!" He exclaimed, grabbing one of John's arms and dragging him forward. "Let's go!"

The other heroes followed the hyper Flash, grinning at his back and the slightly irritated expression his friend wore as he was dragged away.

Superman looked at Batman, "He's something else, huh? Bouncing back like this after a fight like that." Batman stared at him through the mask, impassive as always. A hint of a smile flickered over his face.

"Yes." Was all the Dark Knight said, but Superman understood.

"I have the best teammates ever!" They heard Wally cheer from where he was still dragging John along.

**027. Parents. **

Most people assumed that when Bruce thought of his parents, he automatically focused on their deaths. While this was reasonable, considering the fact that their deaths had basically painted out his entire life and the existence of Batman, it was also untrue. Bruce thought it would be rather unfair if the only thing he remembered of Thomas and Martha Wayne was their death.

For a while it had been that way. Everything his did now was as a result of the pain he had felt as a child getting his parents torn from him in such a way. Batman's existed to make Gotham, and the world, a better place. A place where children didn't have to see their parents die in front of them, a place where parents didn't have to bury their children. But things might have been different for Bruce if Martha and Thomas hadn't been great parents.

Most rich children's parents were distant, at best, and rarely around. Bruce himself had been lucky that his father and mother made a point to be close to their son, and to do all they could in order to make him happy. They had been good people.

It was because of this that Bruce was so attached, and because of this that now (when he was older, stronger, and more willing) he could let go a little and allow himself to remember things other than their deaths when he thought of them.

Christmas time in his family had been wonderful, a time ago. His parents had made a point to be there every Christmas, to celebrate it with him. They would have a large party on Christmas eve, but Christmas morning was all for Bruce. Thomas and Martha showered him with love and attention on Christmas morning, and that was all Bruce could ever ask for.

They would eat dinner together, as a family. The table was large, but they sat very near, and Alfred would be standing near, also a part of the family, even back then.

On occasion, Bruce would dream vividly of these times- happy little family moments where everything was okay, where his parents were alive, where Alfred was younger, where he was innocent. He would wake up the next morning with a smile on his face. The day would be easy to get through after dreams like that; it was only when he dreamt of the night his parents died that the day would be difficult to get through. (Lately, though, Bruce had found himself dreaming often of a certain redheaded teammate of his… he wasn't sure what to make of that…)

Bruce cherished memories of his parents, and as he stood before their graves now, flowers in hand, he knew that they would be proud of him. He was making a difference, in Gotham, and in the world, just like his father and mother had always wanted.

**028. Children. **

There was a certain calmness in the air, the kind of tranquil peace that only came from this kind of activity. Wally West sat comfortably on the floor, cross-legged, with a book open in his lap. The orphans looked at him with big eyes, all clamoring for attention, and all looking forwards to the story to come.

Wally smiled.

"Do you guys like Harry Potter?" He asked, referring to the book in his lap. It was the first one, and they had reached around the middle.

"Yes!" The children exclaimed in unison, beaming at him. Wally smiled back as kindly as possible, before clearing his throat and starting up with the story again. Reading to orphans was one of his favorite things to do.

As he read, Wally let his mind wander, knowing the story well-enough to multi-task in his mind. The children looked enthralled, of course, and that was what really mattered.

Lately, he had been spending more time as Wally, instead of the Flash. He still had his superhero persona, but with all the new heroes in the league, it was no longer necessary for him to be there as much. The Flash still took care of Central City, though. There was one minor problem that was bugging him an awful lot: he had gotten used to the company.

In his lonely apartment, especially at night, Wally found himself lying awake and thinking about his league friends and all the things they used to do together. He missed them, he had realized one night, and all the random, awesome things they would do together.

It wasn't a matter of saving the world with his teammates; it was a matter of simply spending time together out of the costume, out of boundaries. He missed his little talks with J'onn while they ate Oreos with milk. He missed watching movies with Shayera and John, watching their special tension unfold a little more everyday as they got closer to what they both really wanted. He missed gossiping with Diana and training with her, then taking her out to lunch somewhere and answering her questions about the human world. He missed eating apple pie with Clark and having races with him. But most of all, he thought (a little guiltily), he missed Batman.

Everything about the Dark Knight made him ache. And no, not just in the dirty way. Wally thought about him constantly, and in an obvious manner. It was like a school-girl crush. Completely pathetic.

But he couldn't help it. The two of them argued a lot, especially before, when they didn't know each other as well. They were very different, maybe too different, but Wally was _enamored_. He couldn't help himself. And sometimes, he thought maybe Batman was enamored too. But only sometimes.

"Mr. Wally?" The voice of seven-year-old Cynthia cut through his thoughts. Wally snapped out of it and paused in the reading, looking at her.

"Yes, Cynthia?" He asked kindly, smiling.

"Are you okay?" He must have looked confused, because she elaborated, "You suddenly looked very sad, is all, Mr. Wally." Wally felt his expression relax and a stab of tenderness tore through his heart. Children were… delightful.

"I'm fine, Cynthia. Just thinking a little." Cynthia blinked big, brown eyes at him.

"You can read and think at the same time?" She asked in astonishment, eyes brightening with awe. Wally laughed.

"Yes, and once you get good at reading, you'll be able to also." He winked and the children giggled. Cynthia shifted forwards, looking earnest.

"I can't wait," she said proudly, "And I hope whoever you have a crush on likes you back."

Wally went wide-eyed, "W-what? Where would you get the idea that I have a crush?"

"It's written all over your face!" A twelve-year-old, Madeline, exclaimed, giggling.

Wally blushed, before turning back to the book, "Ahem. Yes, well, I suppose I do. Now, we should probably get back to the story." The orphans all giggled, the boys trying to hide it behind their hands. Wally huffed. And here he was, amusement for children.

Although, he thought fondly, they had made him feel a bit better.


	6. Dreams and Memories

**Arc: **_Dreams and Memories  
><em>**Titles: **_Birth, Death  
><em>**Characters: **_Wally, Batman, Justice League, the usual really  
><em>**Pairings: **_one-sided/possibly returned!BatFlash  
><em>**Warnings:** _Weirdly fluffy in places, not angst enough in others, kind of weird in genera  
><em>**Word Count:** _1, 250 according to Word.  
><em>**A/N: **_I might re-write this someday and make it completely different because I'm not sure how I feel about it. I could have done SO MUCH with both of these prompts and really didn't so (especially Death, that one is crappy)… Anyways, I'm really, really, really sorry for the long wait. My only excuses are sickness (again) and schoolwork. Seriously guys, schoolwork is KILLING me. But, I realize I haven't updated in 2 months or something, and while I don't like this at all and you guys deserve more, I wanted to prove that I wasn't dead or dropping this story. Also, I might update sometime in the next two weeks as a treat for being so epically late with this. On to the BatFlash! (I apologize in advance for any and all grammatical and/or spelling errors). Oh, and sorry for the formatting errors in the last chapter._

**029. Birth. **

The day that Wally West knew he wanted to be a superhero was the same day The Flash saved the world for the second time. And not just a superhero, or anything, but a _hero_ in general. He loved everything about the idea of saving people, of saving lives. In each world tragedy he clutched his blanket and stared at the TV in desperation, wishing he could do something, anything, and then he would convince his parents to send money. Every year, even now, he volunteered at the orphanages whenever he could and had clothing and food drives for the poor people of Central. Being a hero was what he was made for.

The day that Wally West knew he wanted to be a father, he was sitting in the hospital, worrying over his Aunt Iris, who had collapsed during work. A man came and sat next to him, looking a little pale and more than a little excited. Wally had turned to look at him, being fourteen at the time.

"What are you here for, son?" The man asked. He was one of those typical thirty year old men, kind eyes crinkled at the edges and lips turned up in a nervous little smile.

"My aunt collapsed at work. The doctor came by and said that she was okay, just dehydrated, though." Wally said, smiling back at the man.

"That's good. My wife is having a baby right now." He announced proudly, bursting to get it out. Wally's smile widened.

"That's wonderful, mister! Is it a boy or a girl?" Wally had always liked kids, and was interested to know what this soon-to-be father was thinking.

"A boy," he replied wistfully, "I would be in there with her, but the doctors said that it was best for me to leave. They have to do a C-section."

Wally winced. He'd heard of those in his biology class, and apparently they had to cut something in the stomach to get the baby out, so there was a lot of blood involved.

"I hope it goes well!" He exclaimed. The man smiled and opened his mouth to respond when a rather harried nurse entered the hall and motioned to him. So, instead he just winked and waved, Wally responding with a wave of his own, and then disappeared into the room.

Later, as he was leaving the hospital with his uncle, he heard the telltale wailing of a baby and saw the man standing holding a tiny blue bundle. He didn't see Wally, but at the sight of that beautiful baby boy, Wally felt his heart stutter. And in that very moment, he knew that someday he wanted to be a father, no matter what it took.

Now, this dream was quite practical really, considering most normal people wanted to grow up, marry, and have kids. Plus, Wally basically modeled his life off of his uncle's, and to him Iris and Barry had it all. Including the kid, who was totally Wally himself. (He ignored the fact that he wasn't _actually_ Iris and Barry's son). Of course now, year after, he realized that maybe that dream was a little _far-fetched_, what with him being all enamored with Batman and a superhero. It's not that he wouldn't still make a good father; it was just that he could barely uphold himself, had given up Bart because he couldn't handle the extra work, and had enough money problems feeding one super-fast-stomach that he really couldn't afford to have a child at all really.

Plus, who would have the baby with him? Sure, at one point he and Linda had thought maybe they'd get married, maybe they'd have kids and all that wonderful jazz, but Wally and Linda was part of the past, and while it had been something that Wally would cherish forever, they just weren't meant to be.

So, this was why when asked the question of 'Do you have any dreams, Mr. Flash?' or even 'Do you have any dreams, Wally?' he always answered 'I'm already living them.'

After all, the birth of his becoming the Flash began on a rainy day in Blue Valley, staring at the TV screen with rapt attention and ignoring the arguing of his parents. Then, he met Barry Allen and it all went uphill from there.

**030. Death. **

Batman went to the Watchtower that day, even though Bruce Wayne skipped work. Bruce Wayne was allowed too, and Batman was not. When Clark saw him sitting in his usual seat, the Man of Steel frowned and gave him a _look_. Batman simply scowled a little harder and Clark sighed, taking his own seat.

When Diana came in, her gaze softened and she sat next to him, gently placing a hand on his arm and saying hello. He grunted back, at best, but she was okay with that.

Next came in a stern Green Lantern, who nodded once to everyone. If he was surprised to see Batman sitting there on this day, he didn't show it and instead took his place. Batman was grateful, really.

Shayera walked in and stared at him for a moment, before sending Clark a look, who shrugged. She shook her head, then, and offered Bruce a smile. His facial expression did not change, but that was okay.

J'onn glided in with the Flash, who was chatting amiably in his ear. J'onn simply nodded at them all, and Flash beamed bright enough to make even the dark cloud over Batman's head wither a little.

Shayera looked a little taken aback that he could be so happy when Batman appeared so morose, and quite obviously toyed with the idea that Wally _didn't know_. That wasn't true, of course, Wally _did_ know, but was choosing to be himself. He thought that maybe Bruce just needed everyone to be themselves today.

The meeting was a little awkward at first, but they got through it. As soon as the work was done, Batman made to sweep out of there, probably to go mope in some corner, but Wally caught him first.

Feeling a bit embarrassed and maybe even a little ashamed, Wally aimed his masked gaze to the floor, avoiding the curiously blank expression on Batman's face.

"So, uh, Bats," he started nervously, scuffing his foot on the floor, "Do you, uh, want to go get lunch? With all of us, I mean." It usually wouldn't be this _hard_, but today… today was a special day. Batman stared at him for a second.

Over Wally's shoulder, Clark made puppy dog eyes that were way too effective for him to be comfortable with and Diana gave him a charming smile. Batman pursed his lips.

"Alright." He finally got out. The Flash released the arm he'd been unintentionally holding, and looked up at him. Then, he beamed, and Batman was forced to stare directly at that megawatt smile for all of five seconds.

He blinked, and was soon being dragged off along with Diana and Clark to the Watchtower cafeteria. Somehow, he knew he _wouldn't_ regret this. Batman smiled at Wally's brightly cowled head slightly, but not enough to give him away. Later, he would erase all evidence of the slight upturning of his lips off of the surveillance cameras, but for now it was okay to feel a twinge of happiness.

His parents would be proud, proud of his happiness on what was usually so dark a day for him.

Today was the anniversary of their death.


	7. Transformations

**Arc: **_Transformations  
><em>**Titles: **_Sunrise, Sunset  
><em>**Characters: **_Batman, Wally, the Justice League as a whole, Circe, too many others  
><em>**Pairings: **_one-sided/possibly-returned!BatFlash, John/Shayera, cracky!Original seven/F!Wally  
><em>**Warnings: **_Fluffy, weird, brief nakedness, girl!Wally (briefly), and Circe  
><em>**Word Count: **_7, 022 according to Word._**  
>AN: **_This… kicked my ass. Seriously. I got 'Sunrise' out, no problem, but then 'Sunset' came along and refused to be written. And that, coupled with school and my supreme laziness (plus brief departure from Wally muse in exchange for Teen Wolf fanfiction (what is wrong with me?)) is the reason why this is so late. And I know, it's really, really late. Sunset may seem choppy, weird, and generally not as funny as I had originally planned (plus there are some parts where my mind really wanted me to write in present tense even though the rest of the fic is in past tense!), but I hope it's not too bad. As always, feedback is seriously appreciated! Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out much sooner. But no promises because I always seem to break those._

**031. Sunrise. **

Wally really hated waking up early. However, it was necessary to wake up at 4:00 am this morning because if there was one thing Wally hated being, it was late. Some people might think the opposite, seeing as how he was often late to meetings, but that was almost never his fault. In truth, Wally loathed being late. His mentor, Barry, though, had been notorious for being tardy and because of the Rogues' unfortunate timing; Wally had carried that particular trait with him.

Contrary to popular belief, the redheaded speedster liked to be 45 minutes early to everything. It just so happened that this rarely worked out for him, which was why he was so adamant at being early to the meeting this morning. Everyone was supposed to be there at 6:30 am at the latest, and to Wally that meant 5:45 am at the latest. Which was why he was up at 4:00 in the morning.

He ate his first breakfast, got dressed, ate his second breakfast, and then grabbed snacks for later in the day. Then he slid out of his apartment, suited up as the Flash, and sped towards the meeting place.

The Flash arrived at the government headquarters at exactly 5:48, just as the sun was starting to rise. He was happy with his early arrival (apparently his villains liked to sleep late, not that he could blame them), but was surprised to see the meeting place already inhabited by someone. That person looked equally surprised to see him, early as he was.

"Bats!" Wally exclaimed as he sped into the room and came to a dead halt right in front of Gotham's vigilante. "What are you doing here so early?"

Batman raised an eyebrow behind his mask, which was only obvious to Wally because they knew each other so well.

"I could ask the same of you. I figured it was better to be prepared and came early. I never expected you to come as well." The Dark Knight said calmly.

Wally pouted, put off by everyone's assumption that he was a naturally unpunctual person. He crossed his arms over his chest and said, "You know I'm not like Barry, Bats. I like to be early. It's usually just the _circumstances_ that cause me to be late. Really. I enjoy being early."

Batman smirked at him, although not disbelievingly. Wally allowed himself to smile back.

Then he took the time to look around the room, which was in the middle of a government building in Washington DC. They were meeting with the president to discuss security issues and power balances. It probably wasn't going to be a fun meeting, considering some of the Justice League's biggest critics were attending.

The room itself was large, with a long oval table in the middle. Each chair had a name card and Wally was pleased to see he was sitting between Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, across from Batman, which meant he could spend most of the meeting staring at the gloriousness of Batman's muscles. There was also a large window in the room, although the blue curtains were drawn.

He frowned upon seeing them like that, and zoomed over to where the pulley for the curtains rested, then tugged on it until the beautiful sunrise was revealed. Wally stood in front of the window, smiling widely at the sight. Batman came to stand next to him and the speedster shivered with delight at the way his cape brushed his arm. A surprising amount of heat radiated off of the impassive man, and Wally instinctively shifted towards him a bit.

"It's pretty." the Flash said brightly.

Batman remained silent for a few more minutes as the orange sun rose slowly in the sky, rays of light washing over the city, bathing it in an almost ethereal light.

"Yes, it is." He finally replied.

**032. Sunset. **

The Justice League was having a busy day. First, Lex Luthor decided to tease Superman a bit by donating almost one million dollars to an orphanage in Metropolis, and naturally Superman practically begged all of the original members to go with him to 'support the cause.' In other words, the Man of Steel trusted Lex Luthor so little that he wanted the presence of his most trusted allies beside him.

Nothing happened, besides some _trolling_ on Lex's part, but Wally was happy to simply spend time with the kids. Even Batman hadn't seemed too upset with the rather relaxing outcome, and managed to get quite a few of the children giggling around his cape.

After that nice break from the norm (it would have been more like them to come across an alien spaceship), the Justice League, while trying to get back to the tower, promptly ran into small groups of villains preforming relatively inane crimes. They took care of everything, of course, but Wally started to feel pangs of hunger soon after and forced the rest of the group to stop and get a few pizzas (the Flash would never be satisfied with only one) with him.

During their food break, however, Circe swung by to induct havoc. Batman, with a long suffering look on the bottom half of his face (as that was the only half Wally had the privilege to see), took off after her trail of destruction. Flash, stuffing the last of the pizza into his mouth, sped after him, while the rest of the Justice League was diverted by the combined efforts of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Batman would have probably preferred to go after Harley and Ivy, but apparently he and Circe had some unfinished business.

"Bats, wait up!" Wally called as the Dark Knight slid into the BatMobile. They zoomed away together after Circe, although Wally was on foot, who had somehow given herself wings and was furiously flapping towards the outskirts of Metropolis.

They arrived at an old theater and Batman stepped out of the BatMobile with a dramatic (and most likely unintentional) flourish of his cape that Wally seriously admired. Compared to his bright red, but skin-tight costume, Batman's was quite theatrical and mysterious. Flash's was, well, flashy, to say the least.

"She'll be waiting on the stage." The Dark Knight said shortly. "You go in before me and have a quick look around, but come back out as quickly as possible. She can be tricky."

The red clad speedster nodded and zoomed in, peering around the inside of the theater with quick eyes. Circe was sitting in a chair on the dusty stage, legs crossed. She gave him a kind of _come hither _look, but Wally was largely unaffected.

He raced back out and bounced in front of Batman.

"It doesn't look like she's done much, really; she's kind of just sitting on the stage looking really sexy. But it's probably a trap."

Batman nodded, "We should be careful, then. I'll go to the roof and through that skylight. You go in the same way as before."

"You got it, Bats!"

Gotham's vigilante used his grapple hook to swing to the roof and Wally waited a few seconds before speeding back into the theater. Circe had remained where she was, sitting daintily.

"Flash," she said archly, "Fancy seeing you here."

Flash grinned at her charmingly, "Circe, a pleasure."

Batman slid into the room, and Circe focused on him. With a delighted cackle, all hell broke loose.

Wally found himself struggling with a thick power of some kind. It was purple and twinkled suspiciously, sticking to his suit and any revealed skin. The speedster batted it away with lightning fast hands, but it didn't seem to let up any. As he sucked in a breath, the purple stuff invaded his throat and lungs, causing him to cough harshly.

Wally ran in circles and all over the room, but the swarm of dust seemed to follow him everywhere. He couldn't get a clear look at Batman through the haze, but the Dark Knight seemed to be in trouble with some pigs.

Finally, he lost the purple haze, although the residue all over his costume and even _inside_ his costume made him squirm. The dust behind him fell, and while Wally eyed it distrustfully, he went to go help Batman with the pigs.

After their battle and apprehending Circe properly, she handed Wally a white envelope, winked and willingly left with the police. It was then that Wally started to feel a little weird, an odd wiggling in his belly that spread throughout his limbs. His skin tingled oddly and his muscles twitched. Batman looked at the envelope.

"Open it at the tower; it might not be safe here." Was all he said about the package and Wally decided to keep quiet about the strange tingling all over his body. It was probably just some of the dust caught in his suit.

/

When they got back to the tower, the others were waiting for them.

He was very hungry, but first he wanted to take a shower and get a different outfit from his room. So, instead of heading straight for the food like he usually would, Wally waved goodbye to his friends for the moment and went to the semi-public bathrooms where there were also showers. He set the envelope on the counter and promptly forgot about it, then checked to make sure there was still a towel and a robe, before beginning to strip his costume.

Halfway through this process, the tingling turned to a burning sensation and Wally gasped. He clutched his stomach, which bubbled painfully. The Flash fell to his knees; upper half unclothed, and squeezed his eye shut. Wally's cowl had already been pulled from his head, and the cloth that lay on the floor suddenly burst in a shower of purple sparkles.

Wally stared where it had once sat through eyes blurry with tears. The rest of his costume was also vanishing, dust left in its place, until it was completely gone. The pain lessened slightly, before it came back in a large burst, and Wally blacked out.

/

He came to on the floor, completely naked, and feeling more than a little exposed. Shivering, Wally sat up, vaguely aware that something felt inherently _wrong_ with his body, but he ignored it for the time being.

The speedster's vision was fuzzy, but there was no pain. He looked around the room, recognizing the same bathroom he had passed out in before, and figured that not too much time had passed by.

Finally, Wally's vision cleared, and he pulled himself up using the counter. He was somewhat shaky on his feet, but he managed to stay standing long enough to see his reflection in the mirror. As soon as he did, however, Wally felt like fainting again.

Staring back at him from the mirror was _not _Wallace Rudolph West, the Flash. Instead it was some girl. Who just so happened to look a lot like him, except for that little problem where she was a _girl_.

Gulping, Wally looked downwards and felt something inside him die a little. He no longer had those man-bits he was so proud of. In their place were _woman_-bits. This was not okay.

Now, Wally may have freaked out just a little bit, but that was understandable, considering the fact that he was now a _woman_. So, as calmly as he could, Wally marched towards the closet where the towels and robes were kept. He pulled a robe over his new body, ignoring the way it sagged because now he was much shorter, and much less broad in the shoulders, and set off to find the one person who could help him.

Wally was lucky in one way—nobody was wandering around the halls, and therefore no one saw him in this state. But in another, he was very, very unlucky in that Batman was in the cafeteria just like everyone else. Wally had two options, both of which did not appeal to him.

First, he could go into the cafeteria and retrieve Batman himself. It would be the more efficient way to actually convince Batman there was something wrong with him, but it also meant that everyone else would see him like this—as a woman (not that there was anything wrong with women, women were gorgeous creations).

If Wally were wearing actual clothes he might not have been as bothered by that. But he wasn't, and therefore it creeped him out.

The second option was to head to the communications room and use the loudspeaker or the comm. system to contact Batman. The problem with both of these plans was that (seeing as how his personal comm. had vanished with the rest of his costume) they would both notify just about everyone that the Flash was in trouble, and he would have a much greater difficulty convincing Batman that there was actually something wrong. After all, many pranks had been played using the loudspeaker.

Wally contemplated these choices carefully. In the end, he decided to go with the loudspeaker, as it held fewer possibilities for humiliation than actually entering the cafeteria. Hopefully, the Dark Knight would hear the desperation in his tone and come running like any good _knight_ would to his princess- ahem, _prince. _

The newly girlified Flash tiptoed his way to the communications room, uncomfortable with running because of his current state of dress. He slowly opened the door and prayed no one was in there, before sliding in and closing it behind him.

"Batman to the communications room, please." Wally said into the microphone, almost gasping out loud at the tone of his voice, which had been raised to a higher soprano. Maybe they wouldn't notice.

/

Bruce was beginning to wonder if Flash had drowned in the shower. It was certainly taking him long enough, and usually the speedster was far too focused on food to take too long doing anything else.

Batman himself was reluctantly eating, again surrounded by his coworkers because Diana was quick to try and talk him into it, and Clark had been wearing this little hopeful smile on his face. Bruce just didn't have the heart to say no.

And, although he would never admit it, he was having a good time. Their pizza lunch had been interrupted earlier, but conversation was easy to start up again. Normally, Bruce would head straight home to keep Alfred company and call Tim, but for now Alfred was occupied with not only Tim, but also with Bart Allen. Feeding one less mouth would not hurt the old butler at all, considering that Bart Allen was even more hyper than his uncle.

So Batman found himself sitting in the middle of a very crowded cafeteria with superheroes on every side. The chatter was loud, but not ridiculously so, and it was nice to see all of them relaxing for once. It was nice to simply relax.

But it was weird without Wally there. (Batman refused to think about why he thought it was weird).

"Batman to the communications room, please."

The voice was high, high enough to sound unnatural, but it was unmistakably Wally's. Batman frowned, wondering if there was something wrong with the microphone.

Although it wasn't a necessarily odd announcement, the voice was rather unrecognizable, and almost everyone was already in the cafeteria anyways. Batman rose as surreptitiously as he could under the admiring, questioning, or blank gazes of the other heroes and strode out of the room.

It had occurred to him that Wally might be playing a prank, but Bruce knew that it was unlikely it was just a prank. There had been a significant decrease in Wally's pranks on him over the past few months, starting somewhere around the time that rumor was flying around. For a while, Batman had been worried it meant the speedster was planning something larger, but had set aside that idea after the Valentine's Day debacle. Wally had probably just tired of searching for a reaction out of him. (Batman had no idea why that made him disappointed— in fact; it didn't make him disappointed at all. Really).

That was why Batman entered the communications room without any qualms, prepared for just about anything the Flash could throw at him. He was _not _prepared for the sight that met him after he opened the door.

"Flash, what seems to be the…" The Dark Knight trailed off, at a loss for words. Wally, seeing his reaction, squeaked and blushed, hiding behind his lengthened hair and curling in on himself. Or, rather, _herself_ it seemed.

After composing his expression, Batman said, "I see. Do you have any idea how this happened?"

"It was that stupid purple dust Circe threw on me, Bats." Wally responded, still half-hiding behind his (her?) hair.

Batman nodded, still dumbfounded by the change in the other superhero.

"I called you," Wally said pointedly (and it was really only safe to think of him (her?) as _Wally_ or _Flash _now), "Because I thought you might be able to help. You've broken Circe's spells before, right?" The Flash sounded nervous and a tad hopeful, looking at him with wide green eyes.

Wait. Wide green eyes?

"Flash, you aren't wearing your mask or suit."

"Well, yes. I know that. They disappeared in little showers of purple dust while I was changing to get into the shower. That's why I put on this robe," Wally fingered the too-long sleeves of the soft blue fabric and frowned, "It doesn't really fit that well, though."

Batman had noticed, but he refused to think about that at the moment (or _look_ at that).

"Circe gave you an envelope, didn't she?" He asked. Wally's eyes brightened and he nodded. "There's probably some kind of clue in there. We should check it."

Flash nodded quickly, making his longer hair wave around spastically. He made for the door, but Batman placed a hand on his (tiny) shoulder before he could exit.

"What?" Wally asked.

"First, let's get you some clothes."

"Oh."

/

Wally allowed Batman to tell Shayera only because he needed to borrow some of her clothes. Hawkgirl took one look at his new body and face and started to giggle uncontrollably. Wally folded his arms under his new _assets_ and frowned at her.

"It's not funny, Shayera. This is seriously weird and really uncomfortable. Also, I'm naked." The robed speedster pouted.

"Right, right," Hawkgirl gasped out between giggles, "Sorry. I just never imagined this would happen to you."

Wally sighed, and tried to ignore the way his breasts heaved with the effort. "Yeah, well, neither did I."

Shayera calmed down a bit and looked him over.

"Well, you aren't an ugly girl, Wally. Actually, you're quite pretty." She said. Wally pursed his lips a bit, unwilling to be as pleased as he was with the compliment.

"Thanks, I guess. But seriously, can we just get me some new clothes? Preferably ones that cover up my entire being and allow me to sink to the floor in a puddle of embarrassment."

Shayera shook her head, and lead him to her closet, where she kept most of her civilian clothing. "Take your pick." The Thanagarian said. Wally reached for a red turtleneck and sweatpants, but she slapped his hands away, looking annoyed now.

"Ew. You are _not_ wearing that," she told him firmly. "At least pick out something a little more… flattering. You'll look ridiculous if you wear that."

Flash glared at her (which wasn't really that effective, considering he a) wasn't Batman, and b) had no practice in making his new girl-body look angry), but sighed, accepting her stubbornness, and instead chose a pair of comfortable jeans and a black t-shirt.

"Right, I'll just change now." Shayera raised an eyebrow at him, almost like he was forgetting something really obvious. He blinked. "What?"

She huffed, stalked over to the wardrobe and sifted through one of the drawers until she found what she was looking for. Wally tapped his foot impatiently.

Shay turned around, holding what appeared to be white panties and a small bra. Wally's face immediately flushed.

"You need underwear, idiot." She eyed the bra, wrinkling her nose, "This one should fit—it's a 32 C. When I first came to Earth I bought a lot of different sizes because I was unsure of what would fit me. And I've never worn these panties before."

Wally spluttered, then grabbed them from her, his entire face steaming red.

Shayera smirked and left the room. He followed her out with his eyes, and once the door was closed, quickly picked up the Green Lantern sweatshirt that was buried at the bottom of the closet.

"Ha, you are _so_ not over him, Shay!" He sniggered, throwing on the clothes (_including _the panties and bra), along with the sweatshirt.

/

Wally decided that there was nothing wrong with hiding in his room until the League (Batman) fixed this, but apparently his stomach had other ideas. It was grumbling, and loudly at that, while Wally stared at the envelope. He was tempted to open it, but Batman had informed him to wait until they could be sure nothing dangerous was inside.

The door to his room slid open, and the Dark Knight stepped inside, carrying what looked like a hand held x-ray machine.

"Hand me the letter." The older man demanded. Wally did so; sitting down on the bed and trying to ignore the odd emptiness he felt when he crossed his legs.

Batman scanned the letter, masked eyes narrowed. The machine beeped once and he handed the letter back to Wally.

"It's safe to open."

Wally nodded and made quick work of the envelope, pulling out a simple piece of folded paper. He read the message out loud.

"Dear Flashy, I think it's wonderful that I actually got to try this magical powder out, but I've heard about your flirting with the ladies and decided to turn you into one. You have until sunset tomorrow to break the spell, or else you'll be cursed to be a girl for the rest of your life. And hush, Batman darling, this is not cliché in the slightest. Love, Circe." Wally's blood ran cold halfway through the letter, and he looked up at Batman with horror.

"Ohmygod you have to turn the spell back," he babbled, clutching Batman's shoulders and shaking him back and forth violently, "I seriously can't stay like this forever, itsoweirdandnotcooland…" He trailed off, eyes wide and fixated on Batman's face.

"Calm down, Flash," the Dark Knight said, gently prying Wally's fingers off his shoulders, "We'll find a cure." He was interrupted from saying more by the loud growling sound that erupted in Wally's belly. A flush covered his new, feminine face at the noise, and Wally thought he saw Batman smirk a little.

"How about you go get something to eat," Batman suggested, "And I'll work with Zatanna and Dr. Fate on a possible cure." Wally nodded, but then a thought occurred to him.

"Wait, like this? Bats, no! It's lunch time and everyone will see me and—" Unfortunately for him, Batman had already disappeared with the swish of a cape. Wally was on his own in getting food.

"This is going to be so humiliating." He grumbled, kicking the door angrily on his way out.

/

"Hi John!" Flash exclaimed cheerfully as he made his way to the cafeteria, sticking to shadows as best he could. Unfortunately John noticed his odd behavior (or well, _her_ odd behavior), and came over to investigate halfway through a conversation with Orion in the hallway.

"…" John appeared to be unable to speak. At all.

"Well," Wally said nervously, grinding his (ridiculously small) foot into the floor with anxiety, "I'mlikereallyhungryso…." And he sped off as quickly as possible while in civilian clothes. John stared after him, still incapable of speech.

Wally made it to the cafeteria without running into anyone else, but could hear the conversation inside. They were all very busy these days and more and more heroes were eating lunch with people who, at the very least, understood the necessity of leading a double life. You didn't really have to lie, here.

He entered, and no one spared him a second glance, at first. Kara, of course, did a double take when she saw him passing her table and blurted out, quite loudly, "FLASH?" Wally's face burned scarlet.

"Um, hi, Kara," he answered, still heading for the food. The other people at the table froze and stared at him. "I kind of… had a magical accident, but yeah, it's me."

"Oh my god," Kara said, looking entirely too excited, "This is legitimately amazing. You look so cute!"

Wally scowled, and continued on his way to the food.

"Come sit with us after, Wally!" She called.

Wally just rolled his eyes. He'd probably have to explain things to about a billion different superheroes today. It was going to be seriously annoying. With that thought in mind, Wally piled food on his tray, ignored John, who was following him with an extremely broken expression (caught halfway between astonishment, amusement, and horror), and ate vigorously, answering Supergirl's questions as they came.

He considered himself lucky when Batman, Zatanna, and Dr. Fate came to collect him.

/

"Unfortunately," Dr. Fate started, causing Wally to wince, "I cannot break the spell right now. It is set to break at sunset tomorrow, but only if the requirements are met."

Zatanna nodded from next to him, having already tried many forms of counter-spells and gotten nowhere.

"And those requirements are?" Wally asked, dread creeping up his spine and into his voice. Like a creepy spider. Dr. Fate shook his head.

"I'm not sure. I can look into it, the kind of spell it is and such, and possibly form a counter spell, though." Flash nodded. That was a good plan.

"Sorry, Wally," Zatanna offered kindly, "But I'm in the same boat as him. However, the structure of the spell seems kind of familiar. I think I have a book that might help us—let me find it and I'll get back to you."

Batman, who was standing behind Wally all supportively (in reality, he was probably standing behind Wally because that's what he did—he lurked behind people; but Wally wanted to believe it was because he was _supportive_), grunted and nodded.

"Do that," he ordered, and the other two went off. Batman turned to Wally. "Come with me."

Wally followed, a little confused, but really, willing to go anywhere Bruce wanted to lead him.

/

"Hi, Tim!" The redheaded speedster greeted. Timothy Drake stared at him.

"_Flash_?" He asked incredulously, then turning to Batman for confirmation. Batman nodded.

Tim's face broke into a mischievous, evil little smile.

"I'm totally telling Bart about this," he said wickedly, "And taking pictures, and telling Dick. And Roy. And everyone else in the world who knows who you are because this is _hilarious_!"

Wally scowled deeply, cheeks a tad red, and glared, "You will _not_, Tim! That's so mean and this is already humiliating enough!"

"I totally will, though." Tim announced smugly, "I have to get Bart back here pronto. He just went out to get some snacks." Then he disappeared. Wally growled in frustration.

"Bruce, you're not seriously going to—" and cut himself off when he noticed that Bruce had disappeared as well. "Are you kidding me?" Wally asked himself, slapping his forehead with irritation.

Alfred melted from the shadows, startling the redhead, "A drink, Master… ahem, Miss Wallace."

Wally gave him a look. "Oh, be quiet." he muttered, but nevertheless accepted the lemonade.

/

He slept at the manor, unwilling to leave and speed to his apartment as a woman (no doubt his next door neighbors would notice a girl breaking into his apartment and call the police or something), and woke up to the wonderful smell of Alfred's cooking.

"I could get used to this," he announced cheerfully to Tim and Bruce at the breakfast table. "Your food is so delicious, Al." Alfred's eyebrow raised a centimeter at the nickname, but he nodded in thanks of the compliment.

"Always a pleasure to feed someone so… enthusiastic," the butler said, following Wally's fork as it shoveled food into his mouth.

Wally grinned, barely remembering to swallow before finishing the food. He was in a surprisingly good mood for having woken up in a girl's body _again_ (and feeling a tad sick with the thought that they only had until sunset today to break the spell), but Alfred's food really picked him up.

That pick up was broken when a blur came shooting down the stairs, clad in Batman pajamas. Bart was ruffled and sleepy, but the moment he saw Wally, he burst out laughing.

"OhmygodTimyouweren'tkidding," the brat shrieked, giggling at the expression on his uncle's face, "He's really a girl now!"

Wally sped over and slapped him upside the head, causing a surprised Bart to stumble, "You shut it, now, Bartholomew Henry Allen, or there'll be hell to pay."

It took Bart a _full minute_, which, in their reality, was like 10 minutes or something, to control himself, but he was finally able to look at Wally without laughing.

"So, uh," he said, cracking a grin, "Are you, like, stuck like this?" Wally rolled his eyes.

"Not permanently. Well… hopefully not permanently. Dr. Fate and Zatanna are looking into it." He answered, going back to the table and swiping up more food before Bart could.

Bart raised an auburn eyebrow, "When do they have to, you know, figure it out by?" Wally played with his food, suddenly in a bad mood.

"Sunset," he muttered. Bruce gave Alfred a look, who in turn gave Tim a look, who stared at Bart. Bart winced, then sped into the seat next to Wally.

"Well, if it helps, you make a pretty girl." He commented, working his way through several eggs.

Wally's face slammed into the table, "Why do people keep telling me that?" Bart and Tim sniggered, Bruce's lips turned up at the sides, and Alfred kindly refrained from reacting except for a small cough into his elbow.

/

"We have good news and bad news," Zatanna told him as soon as he and Batman got to the tower, "Which do you want first?"

"The good news." Wally blurted out. Because seriously, he needed some good news.

"We have discovered the requirements of undoing your spell," Dr. Fate said, "But you are probably not going to like them."

Wally stared for a little while (and it was kind of weird because he and Zatanna were the same height, whereas before he had been closer to Dr. Fate in height). "Okay… so what're the requirements?" He asked, because there was really nothing else left to say. Zatanna coughed, her cheeks flushing a bit, and Wally contemplated flirting, but decided not to on the principle that there were more important things to worry about (for once).

"Well," she glanced at Batman, who once again stood behind the Flash, arms crossed and intimidating, "Um…" Darting forward, and ignoring what could be interpreted at waves of amusement emanating off of Dr. Fate, Zatanna whispered the conditions in Wally's ear.

Wally blanched and sped out of the room.

/

"This is the worst thing ever," he groaned, hunched over the sink in the bathroom (the men's bathroom, of course, because even though he _looked_ like a girl, there was no way Shayera would let him get away with that, "I don't even have words for how horrible this is."

It wouldn't be that bad if Wally didn't have an enormous crush on Batman. All he had to do, really, was kiss each member of the original seven. On the lips. Possibly with tongue (there was a large chance Zatanna was making that part up). He frowned at his narrower, more womanlike face, and general small stature in the mirror. He didn't want to be a woman forever. So there was only one thing to do—fulfill the requirements. If that meant planting big, wet ones on his best friends, they'd have to deal. Wally wanted to be a man again.

/

He started off with the easiest. J'onn. The Martian would be able to read his mind and understand why he needed the kiss, and also, Wally was pretty sure the notion of gender on Mars was pretty moot point, for the most part. They had the symbolic roles, but with all the shape-shifting going on, there was a large possibility no one really cared that much.

Wally zoomed around in borrowed clothes (from a separate closet at Wayne manor that was probably used for cross dressing purposes. He'd been on a few of those kinds of missions. They were kinda fun.), searching for his first… victim.

J'onn found him, apparently having heard his cries telepathically, and as soon as they were alone, Wally grinned, gave the Martian a big, sloppy kiss on the lips, before whizzing off. J'onn stared after him, largely unaffected, and shook his head. When Wally had to kiss Batman (and John, that would be awkward), he was _not_ going to be in the tower. No, he would watch it later on one of the cameras and laugh hysterically. With a straight face.

/

The next easiest would probably be one of the girls, because even though he looked like a female now, they both knew his true gender and would probably find the whole thing more amusing than anything. He ran into Diana, snatched her arm, and dragged her into a random janitor's closet as she was stalking towards the cafeteria, no doubt after Superman (they were in the midst of an argument over something or other).

"Hey, princess," he said as casually as possible, "I need a favor."

He explained, trying to ignore the fact that he was about to kiss someone as gorgeous and unattainable as Wonder Woman, and she only believed him once she used her lasso on him. When Diana realized he was telling the truth, she giggled and relented. They pressed their lips together, a sweet and chaste (much more controlled than the messy mush of lips that Wally had forced on J'onn) peck on each other's mouths. It was almost disappointing, but not really, because it was _Diana_.

"Mm, baby," Wally purred once they parted (disregarding the sound of his most seductive _female_ voice), "I've been waiting for that my entire life."

Wonder Woman rolled her eyes and laughed, "Happy to help, Wally." Then she left, on her hunt for Clark again. Two down, four to go. Shayera was next.

/

He caught the Thanagarian while she was on monitor duty, bored and alone. It was perfect. Wally zipped into the chair beside her. Shayera raised one perfect eyebrow at him.

"Hey, Wally. Still a woman, I see." She smirked at him. Wally rolled his eyes.

"I need a kiss, bird beak. It's the only way to break the spell."

She stared at him skeptically. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," he replied truthfully, "I need a kiss from all of you guys—I've already kissed J'onn and Diana, so now I just need to kiss you, Clark, John, and… _Bruce_."

Shayera stared at him. "You're serious?"

Wally nodded pathetically. She grinned.

"Have fun with that." Then she grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled his (shorter, now) body up into a fierce kiss. He should have known she wouldn't make this anything but incredibly awkward for him.

Their lips slipped together, Wally's much fuller than normal, and Shayera licked the seam of where his were firmly pressed together. Then, she released him and sauntered off, leaving a blushing Wally in her wake, apparently done with monitor duty. This challenge was so stupid.

/

Wally wandered into the cafeteria, food on his mind, when he spotted both John and Clark. He glanced around; the room was pretty full. He decided not to let that stop him. A mischievous grin made his mouth twitch, and he strolled over, putting an extra swish in his new and improved hips.

They didn't notice him until it was too late, and by then he had thrown thin arms around their shoulders. Clark stiffened and John's eyes widened.

"Wally!" Superman exclaimed, having heard of his situation, "You really are a girl!" Wally raised one unimpressed eyebrow at his incredible deduction skills. John appeared to be having an aneurism.

"That's right, big boy," he purred, "And I need something from the both of you in order to get back to being a male again." They stared at him suspiciously, sensing trouble from a mile away. Wally smirked.

"And what is that?" John asked, apparently finding his voice. He glanced around to see the stares of many other curious heroes; obviously, whatever Wally was planning involved public humiliation.

"Oh nothing." Wally said in a sing-song voice. Then, before Superman could react (even if the Man of Steel was fast, no one was faster than the Flash), Wally swooped down and claimed two surprised lips. They tasted, he was tickled to find out, like apple pie and the good American way.

Their short, but sweet (it also tasted like victory, to Wally) kiss had people gasping, and John attempted to escape. Being the Flash, Wally stopped that before it even started and gave him a smooch. A smooch which he purposely prolonged, just to make it more humiliating for his friend.

John struggled briefly, but Wally kept his lips firmly on the other man's, even daring to lick a little. When he finally released the Green Lantern, he could hear the titters of other heroes (including Shayera, of course) and the bewildered protests of Clark. Wally beamed, patted John on the cheek and raced off before the other man could kill him. While he ran, he laughed. It was always fun to render _John _of all people speechless.

Now it was time to own up and face the worst of them all—Batman.

/

Wally put it off a bit. Mostly because he was terrified. It wasn't that he thought the Dark Knight would kill him (which he might), because the Flash knew that Batman was secretly kind of a sweetie (it was for that reason Wally was in love with him). It was _because_ Wally was in love with him. Somehow he knew that if he planted one on his crush, Batman would just _know_. But he had to do it. Before sunset.

So, Wally searched for the Dark Knight, eventually coming across him in the monitor room, alone. He dashed into the seat next to Batman, and waited. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long. Gotham's vigilante pressed a few more buttons, causing more cameras to appear on the screens, but then turned to him.

"Flash?" He asked, blunt as ever. Wally might as well just get this over with.

He twiddled his thumbs. "Well, as you know, Zatanna and Dr. Fate figured out what I need to do before sunset in order to be a male again, and, well…" He trailed off, looking away from that pointy-eared cowl and avoiding eye contact in general. Batman shifted next to him, not uncomfortably, but almost warily. Good. He should be.

"Continue," was the demand from next to Wally, and he did. No one denied that voice.

"Ihavetokisstheoriginalseven." He blurted out, turning around with a swish of girl clothing. Batman blinked once, then—

Oh. Wally was kissing him. When did that happen?

Mouth on mouth, it was wonderful (well, for Wally it was). Their lips met at a slightly awkward angle thanks to the speedster's abruptness, but they were lip-locked nonetheless. Batman's mouth was warm and firm, and Wally's full lips were unexpectedly soft. They kept their bodies at a distance, but remained kissing for a little while longer. Bruce, the wicked man, even slipped a tongue over Wally's mouth, almost curiously. Just as hastily as the speedster had started it, he ended it, pulling back from Batman with a surprised gasp. Wally's face was horribly red and his entire body vibrated in place for a moment. Then he ran out of the room.

/

Sunset found Wally in his apartment and a man once again. He had stripped from the woman's clothing as soon as he'd gotten back home and waited anxiously, naked except for a pair of boxers, for the sun to start setting. As soon as it did, he felt the tingling again. Then the pain came, and with it the blackout, but when he woke up, he was back in the correct body. (And he checked. Thoroughly.)

Whooping with joy, the Flash suited up at last and patrolled his city.

/

The next morning in the Watchtower was supremely awkward. Wally explained the kisses to John and Clark, both of whom seemed relieved, if a tad irritated. He also completely ignored Batman in an absolutely subtle way. And by subtle, I mean totally obviously. Shayera and Diana kept sending him these pathetic little amused looks and J'onn just kind of telepathically face palmed every five seconds or so.

Clark pretended not to notice. He was Kryptonian and could do that for however long he wanted to. Nope, no palpable and unresolved sexual tension in this room, not at all.

John really _didn't_ notice, too exasperated with the previous day's events and too busy lecturing Wally on the importance of _informing people about the situation before you do stupid things_ to bother trying.

Batman, meanwhile, was super grumpy (even more so than usual), and seemed annoyed with the way Flash was ignoring him. Only J'onn recognized this behavior and the increasingly less restrained ways Batman tried to gain Flash's attention, only to fail in light of Wally concentrating on ignoring him. Finally, Batman gave up and paired them up for monitor duty for the next three months in an act of desperation.

Inside of his mind, J'onn face palmed, laughed, and let out a frustrated sigh, at the same time. His teammates were so _stupid_ sometimes.


End file.
